Tennessee's pursuit of its second SEC Tournament crown in three years and potentially its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in program history begins Friday.

The SEC regular season champion, the 1-seed Vols play 9-seed Mississippi State in the conference tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for the second time since the Bulldogs handed Tennessee one of its four league losses back in January.

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The Vols don't have much to prove but a win or two over the weekend could solidify one of the four top seeds in the NCAA Tournament next week. As it stands, Tennessee is in contention with North Carolina and Arizona for that spot.

Beating Mississippi State would help.

The Vols enter the postseason with a 7-6 record against Quad 1 teams but could improve their resume with what would count as a Quad 1 win over the Bulldogs. Tennessee could also benefit from a few of its past conference opponents in the regular season having good showings in Nashville and counting as Quad 1 wins for the Vols.

Mississippi State beat Tennessee, 77-72 on Jan. 10 despite a second half comeback effort sparked by SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht, who scored 26 of his 28 total points over the last 20 minutes to even the score late before the Bulldogs pulled away in the final minute.

Mississippi State had success slowing the Vols' pace as guard Josh Hubbard and forward Tolu Smith agave them fits on the other end with 25 and 23 points, respectively.

Tennessee went on to win 13 of its last 16 SEC games and win the league outright for the first time in 16 years.

Mississippi State meanwhile had mixed results the rest of the way, losing five of its next seven and then four-straight to end the regular season. The Bulldogs beat LSU, 70-60 on Thursday to move on to the quarterfinals behind 24 points from Hubbard.

Here's a closer look at the match up.

Who: 9-seed Mississippi State (20-12) vs. 1-seed Tennessee (24-7)

When: Friday, March 15 | 1 p.m. ET

Where: Brdigestone Arena | Nashville, Tenn.

TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst; Marty Smith, reporter)

KenPom Projection: Tennessee 75, Mississippi State 68

Series: Tennessee leads, 90-45

POINTS PER GAME:

Tennessee 80.2, Mississippi State 75.3

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE:

Mississippi State 45.5%, Tennessee 44.9%

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE:

Tennessee 34.6%, Mississippi State 32.9%

ASSISTS:

Tennessee 16.9, Mississippi State 14.5

THE VOLREPORT SHOW: Grading our preseason Tennessee basketball predictions

REBOUNDS:

Tennessee 39.0, Mississippi State 38.7

BLOCKS:

Tennessee 4.8, Mississippi State 3.2

STEALS:

Tennessee 7.9, Mississippi State 7.9

-- Tennessee is 74-57 in the SEC Tournament all-time. The Vols have won the tournament championship five times with their last coming in 2022 following a 44-year drought. Tennessee is 11-6 in the tournament under head coach Rick Barnes.

-- Tennessee has history on its side. The Vols have reached the SEC Tournament Championship Game five of the last six years (2020 tournament was cancelled due to COVID), winning the title in 2022. In each of those runs, Tennessee's first game was against Mississippi State in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

-- Tennessee's side of the bracket sets up for a couple of high-profile rematches that defined the Vols' regular season championship run. A Tennessee win Friday would mean it will face either 4-seed Auburn or 5-seed South Carolina in the semifinals. The Vols went 2-1 against both teams, splitting with the Gamecocks and coming from behind to beat the Tigers in Knoxville late last month.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee basketball's path to another SEC Tournament title

-- Tennessee ended the regular season with four-straight games against AP Top 20 teams, finishing 3-1 in those match ups with wins over Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina and dropping its regular season finale to Kentucky last Saturday, despite Dalton Knecht's career-high 40 points. The Vols could potentially meet Kentucky for a third time in the championship game on Sunday.

-- Tennessee was well represented in the conference's post-regular season awards. Knecht was named SEC Player of the Year while Zakai Zeigler was tabbed the league's defensive player of the year by the coaches. Both players along with Jonas Aidoo landed on the All-SEC First and Second Team.

-- Mississippi State is led in scoring by freshman guard Josh Hubbard, who averages 16.8 points per game and was an All-SEC Second Team selection. Six-foot-11 forward Tolu Smith, who averages 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds made the All-SEC First Team.

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