Back during the 2014 and/or 2015 coaching searches, I remember there being a fairly strong desire from online Tennessee fans for Ben Howland. After all, Howland had just been let go by UCLA after the 2013 season, and it isn’t every day there’s a coach on the market with three consecutive Final Four appearances, especially when they’re as recent as 2006-2008. (At the time, this was recent.) Perhaps what we didn’t know – or chose to not see – was that after the final of those Final Four appearances, the UCLA program cratered. They went 117th-52nd-58th-46th on KenPom over his final four seasons, didn’t escape the second round, and were instantly better under new HC Steve Alford.
Howland got scooped up by Mississippi State, who needed literally anything they could get after the Rick Ray error. Again, at the time, it felt like the Bulldogs were seen as making the better hire between them and Tennessee heading into the 2015-16 season. Over 5.5 seasons, Mississippi State has finished inside the KenPom top 40 once, has made one NCAA Tournament, and bombed out to Liberty in the first round. Rick Barnes, whether you like him or not, is headed towards posting his third top-20 finish at Tennessee and has the third-best defense in the country. Funny how these things work out.
Game Information:
- THE OPPONENT: Mississippi State (9-7, 4-4).
- THE TIME: 7 PM ET.
- THE CHANNEL: SEC Network.
- THE ANNOUNCERS (by request): Tom Hart PBP, Jimmy Dykes color.
- THE SPREAD: Tennessee -9.5.
If you’d like to skip ahead to a certain section, click below.
- Mississippi State offense
- Mississippi State defense
- Tennessee
- Lineup notes, key matchups, three predictions
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Stats by Will 