Mississippi State University had a major opportunity to get a resume-building win on Wednesday night in Starkville, hosting No.19 Tennessee. Unfortunately, this did not come to fruition.

The Bulldogs fell behind 14-2 in the early stages of the first half, before crawling back late in the period. These efforts culminated in a 2-point deficit at the halfway point, Tennessee’s lead. 

MSU committed eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes, which Tennessee capitalized on to the fullest extent, scoring 10 points of the Bulldog blunders in the first half alone. 

Despite whatever Ben Howland told his team in the locker room, the story picked up right where it left off in the second half. MSU lost the turnover battle 16-10, with Tennessee getting 20 points off turnovers. MSU shot 14-of-23 at the free throw line, amounting to only 61%. Tennessee shot 8-of-9 from the foul line, for 89%.

“Beating good teams, like Tennessee, we need to be 19-of-23 from the line, not 14-of-23,” Howland said.

He also mentioned that the turnover differential stuck out to him, noting that it might have been the “worst” part of the affair. 

The game was tied at 61 with four minutes remaining, before Tennessee went on an 11-2 run, putting the Bulldogs out of reach of another much needed quadrant one win. 

Forward Garrison Brooks explained why his team’s late game efforts fell short. 

“We didn’t do what we needed to do down the stretch … we didn’t make the big plays we needed to. That’s as simple as I can put it …. we need to finish,” Brooks said.

MSU has had opportunities for quad one wins in their last two games, losing both of them. They now look forward to two more chances ahead of them. The Bulldogs will travel to LSU on Saturday before going on the road once again at Alabama on Tuesday. The LSU contest will tip off at 7:00 p.m. Central Time on ESPN2 in Baton Rouge.