Takeaways: James Powers Tennessee Past Mississippi State in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

TAMPA, Fla. -- Josiah-Jordan James took a pass in front of the Tennessee bench early in Friday night's second half. 

He fired, swished, flexed and yelled on his way back down the floor at Amalie Arena. 

The Vols exploded, and so did James -- 16 points on a 4-of-5 effort from deep after the break -- to give Tennessee the cushion it needed for a 72-59 win in the 2022 SEC Tournament quarterfinals. 

It was Tennessee's third quarterfinal win over Mississippi State in their past four SEC Tournament meetings. 

In each of the previous two matchups against the Bulldogs, the Vols booked their trip to the semifinals before moving on to the tournament title game. 

Here are takeaways from the win:

James starts cold, finishes hot

James’s second-half effort was especially impressive given the mere two points he scored in the first 20 minutes.

This night was another great one in succession for James, who has found his stroke in the past couple of weeks.

“Nothing really felt different,” he said after the win. “I was a little cold, I got stretched during halftime. I trust my teammates. All the shots felt good.”

James also reiterated the importance of his teammates’ belief, saying they maintained season-long confidence that he would eventually connect — and he has.

Kennedy Chandler in and out (on a loop)

Early in the first half on Friday, Kennedy Chandler gripped his right leg in pain. 

He was helped off the floor, then made his way up the tunnel for evaluation before popping back into the game. 

Chandler left the game again later in the first half, another awkward stumble giving way to another quick trip to the locker room. 

Between first-half interruptions, the freshman appeared fine -- but he totaled just nine minutes of action in the second half, a stark contrast to 18 minutes in the first. 

Chandler finished with 11 points with six assists and two steals.

James reiterated afterward that the Vols are “thankful (Chandler) is okay.”

Meanwhile, Rick Barnes operated off Chandler’s indications.

“It was up to him,” Barnes said. “I said to him, ‘How do you feel?' He said, ‘I’m fine.’ We have to trust him on that.”

Sharing is caring

Tennessee amassed a whopping 21 assists on Friday, just 10 shy of the program record for a single game.

Chandler and Zakai Zeigler had 14 combined. 

The Vols also started and ended with a joint effort, as five players finished in double figures: James with 16, Chandler and Zeigler with 11 each, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Santiago Vescovi with 10 apiece. 

"Money" inside and outside the arc

Following James's lead, Tennessee came out of the locker room scorching hot. 

The Vols hit four of their first five 3-pointers in the second half with a 7-of-10 clip from the floor, and they finished each half at 50 percent from the floor. 

Aggies aid positive trend

Aside from UT's aforementioned success against the Bulldogs, Tennessee also got a boost from Texas A&M on Friday. 

The last two times the Vols have reached the SEC Tournament title game, the tourney's top seed was bounced in the noon game of the quarterfinal round. 

The Aggies checked that one off the list by outlasting Auburn 67-72 on Friday afternoon -- the Tigers could only watch as Quenton Jackson swatted away AU's lingering hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

Up next

Now, the Vols will look ahead to their third SEC Tournament semifinal trip in the last three times the tournament has been played. 

To make its third title game appearance in the last four trips, UT must get past Kentucky since the Wildcats beat Vanderbilt on Friday night.

Cover photo via Jake Nichols