After opening the season strong with a 10-3 record heading into the new calendar year, conference play has taken a toll on the Mississippi State  University men’s basketball team. 
MSU took on the Tennessee Volunteers at home Wednesday night and fell 75-68. With that defeat, the Dogs are now on a 10-game losing streak, and there does not appear to be an end in sight. MSU is now 3-12 in SEC play and 13-15 overall. 
Similar to the previous game against Arkansas, the team fought to the end, played hard and even outplayed its opponent down the stretch. 
But also like the game against Arkansas, MSU started too slowly and dug themselves in too deep of a hole early. 
When a team is in the midst of a 10-game losing streak, a lot of things are going wrong for that team. 
However, there were some bright spots on what has become a very dim period for the Bulldogs. 
After being benched against Arkansas, sophomore Fred Thomas responded in this game with his best outing of the season. 
Thomas had 18 points, three assists and six rebounds, putting together a consistent all-around game. 
Thomas also provided some tough perimeter defense. 
Thomas said not getting to play in the Arkansas game had a huge impact on how he played against Tennessee. 
“I feel like I had a chip on my shoulder, and I had to come out and play hard for my team because I let them down when I didn’t play against Arkansas,” Thomas said. “I was just trying to be very aggressive and help my team win.” 
Junior Roquez Johnson also stepped up for the Dogs against the Volunteers. 
He led the team with 19 points and hit some key buckets to keep the game close. 
It was not enough, though, as the Vols never let the Bulldogs back in the game after collecting an early lead. 
Johnson said the Dogs’ defense cost them in this game. 
“We needed to score, and get stops but we were just scoring and letting them score,” Johnson said. “It all boils down to defense.” 
Defense was an issue that prevented the Dogs from winning this contest, but an even bigger problem was rebounding. 
Rebounding, or lack thereof, has plagued the Bulldogs all season as they have gotten out-rebounded in the majority of games. 
The rebounding woes were no different on Wednesday as Tennessee won the battle on the boards 43-35 and got 17 offensive rebounds. 
MSU head coach Rick Ray said beating a team like Tennessee is difficult when a team allows that many second-chance opportunities.  
“From the beginning of the game, we weren’t prepared for Tennessee’s physicality,” Ray said. “They knocked us on our heels early. They had 17 offensive rebounds, and the main thing is when you allow that many offensive rebounds, it continuously takes 35 seconds off the shot clock. When you’re down you need those 35 seconds.”
Last season, the Bulldogs faced similar adversity going through a losing streak that got as large as 13 before they won again. 
Only three games remain in the regular season, and if the Bulldogs cannot find a way to get a win before the season ends, they will head into the SEC tournament at risk of losing 13 straight again. 
Ray said he is not worried about his team being motivated despite the losing streak. 
“I would be worried if day-to-day in practice our guys weren’t playing hard and weren’t competing,” Ray said. “When you see guys continuing to give effort and trying to follow the game plan, you don’t have to be concerned about motivation. I’m frustrated, and our kids are frustrated because we want to win. They are giving us everything they can to help us win right now, but it just isn’t enough right now.” 
The Bulldogs’ next game is Saturday on the road against Missouri at 12:30 p.m.