On numerous occasions in the second half, Donnie Tyndall waved his arms, enthusiastically asking the 13,268 at Thompson-Boling Arena to help his team out.
Time after time, they heeded the request and rose to their feet to serve as UT’s sixth man when Mississippi State had the ball.
But it wouldn’t have mattered even if there were 102,455 screaming fans surrounding a basketball court inside Neyland Stadium, because where Tennessee needed a sixth man the most in its 71-66 loss to the Bulldogs on Tuesday was on the court in its zone defense.
Mississippi State’s Craig Sword and Fred Thomas shot the Bulldogs to revenge of an earlier 61-47 loss to the Vols by making 8-of-11 shots from 3-point range to overshadow one of the greatest offensive performances by a UT player since Chris Lofton played for the Vols from 2004-08.
Josh Richardson scored a career-high 30 points for UT (13-8, 5-4 SEC). Inexplicably, though, his teammates neglected to look for him or he simply lacked assertiveness with the game on the line as the Vols crept to within a missed Derek Reese dunk of tying the game in the final minute.
That missed dunk may come back to haunt the Vols when the powers that be are deciding who to select for college basketball’s various postseason tournaments.
In reality, Sword and Thomas won the game for the Bulldogs (11-11, 4-5) more than any UT player or one play lost it.
But with the more difficult half of UT’s conference slate remaining, the Vols cannot miss any dunks or allow opponents to shoot as well as Sword and Thomas did on Tuesday if they hope to remain in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
Next up is a game at Georgia (14-6, 5-3) on Saturday. The Bulldogs faltered at No. 1 Kentucky on Tuesday night and lost 69-58, but they’re 10-1 at home.
Following Georgia is a game at Vanderbilt 11-10 (1-7). The Commodores are not a good basketball team, but playing them inside a uniquely configured Memorial Gymnasium is never easy.
Games against LSU (16-5, 5-3), Kentucky (22-0, 9-0) and at Ole Miss (14-7, 5-3) loom in mid-February. By the conclusion of that stretch, UT’s identity and destiny should be clearer.
For now, it is still uncertain. Against Mississippi State, the Vols looked more like what they were expected to look like before the season; they struggled to garner significant contributions from players other than Richardson.
UT’s senior leader contributed 12 of the 13 points UT scored between the 9:41 and 5:18 marks in the second half to keep the Vols afloat.
It was a remarkable effort — the kind that would have made history if it had continued down the stretch when the Bulldogs kept him out of rhythm and iced the game.
As Richardson trudged to the bench after fouling out with four seconds left, he received a standing ovation from what remained of the crowd.
Both Richardson and the fans did their jobs remarkably well.
UT just needed a literal sixth man.
David Cobb is a senior in journalism and electronic media. He can be reached at [email protected].
