Live Updates: Tennessee vs. Missouri in SEC Tournament Quarterfinal
NASHVILLE — Tennessee gets its rematch with Missouri Friday afternoon, with the Vols (23-9) and Tigers (23-8) meeting in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Tipoff is scheduled for around 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
The Tigers and Vols were tied in the final SEC regular-season standings with matching 11-7 records, but Mizzou held the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to its 86-85 win over Tennessee in Knoxville on February 11. Missouri got the fourth seed, and the double-bye into the quarterfinal round that came with it, while Tennessee had to settle for the No. 5 seed.
The Vols advanced on Thursday with a 70-55 win over Ole Miss. Today’s winner will advance to face either Alabama or Mississippi State on Saturday in the semifinal round.
Tennessee vs. Missouri: How to watch, stream, listen
Tipoff Time: 3:30 p.m. ET, Friday
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN.com
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast (Bob Kesling – play-by-play – Bert Bertelkamp, analyst) can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.
A closer look at Missouri
Missouri beat Tennessee 86-85 at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 11, when DeAndre Gholston fired off a long, desperation 3-pointer on the run as time expired to stun the Vols. Mizzou led by 17 points with 17 minutes left, but the Vols rallied to erase the deficit and build a six-point lead of their own, only to see it come undone in the closing minutes.
Kobe Brown scored 21 points to lead Missouri in the win. Gholston had 18, Sean East II scored 17 and D’Moi Hodge had 14 for the Tigers, who shot 52.6 percent from the floor (30-57) and 53.8 percent from the 3-point line (14-26).
Tyreke Key led the Tennessee comeback, scoring 21 of his season-high 23 points in the second half. He finished night 6 of 13 from the floor and 5-for-9 from the 3-point line, going 5-for-7 from the arc in the second half alone. Santiago Vescovi scored 16 points and Zakai Zeigler added 11 points and 10 assists.
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Missouri enters today’s game as a No. 8 seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest NCAA Tournament bracket projection for ESPN. The Tigers, after going 23-8 in the regular season under first-year Mizzou head coach Dennis Gates, are ranked No. 9 in KenPom.com‘s adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 119.6 points per 100 possessions. They’re 195th defensively, giving up 106.4 points per possession. Missouri is No. 48 in the NET rankings.
Tennessee, which opened as a six-point favorite over Missouri, is a No. 3 seed in Lunardi’s latest bracket. The Vols have KenPom’s No. 1 defense (87.6) and are No. 45 on offense (113.2).
Tennessee in the SEC Tournament under Rick Barnes
Tennessee has played in three SEC Tournament championship games under Rick Barnes, losing against Kentucky in St. Louis in 2018 and Auburn in Nashville in 2019. Last Mach in the championship game at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Tennessee beat Texas A&M to win the conference tournament for the first time since 1979.
The Vols lost in the semifinal round against Alabama in 2021, after beating Florida in the quarterfinal round, and lost to Georgia in their first game at the tournament in 2017. Tennessee was a No. 12 seed in 2016, the first season under Barnes, and beat No. 13 Auburn (97-59) and No. 5 Vanderbilt (67-65) before losing to No. 4 LSU, 84-75.
