STARKVILLE, Miss. — Four days after looking the part of the team picked to win the SEC in the preseason, Tennessee looked lost inside Humphrey Coliseum on Wednesday.

A myriad of turnovers and cold shooting spells had the No. 5 Vols trailing and on the ropes for more than a half in their conference road opener at Mississippi State.

It was a familiar spot for Tennessee, which overcame a 10-point deficit to beat the Bulldogs in the same building nearly a year ago. An explosive second half performance from Dalton Kencht tied the game late, but the Vols' comeback bid ultimately came up short in a 77-72 upset loss.

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Knecht finished with a game-high 28 points--26 of which came in the final period--and Zakai Zeigler scored a career-high 26 points, but the Vols' (11-4, 1-1 SEC) 16 turnovers and foul trouble that kept Tennessee's bigs in Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka largely uneffective down the stretch were the difference.

Josh Hubbard paced Mississippi State (12-3, 1-1) with 25 points on 50% shooting from 3-point range while Tolu Smith III scored 23.

Zeigler started where he left off in his previous two outings, knocking down a pair of early 3-pointers to help Tennessee to a 8-7 lead.

Mississippi State rattled off a quick 5-0 run to go in front, 12-8 on a Bell layup, but Zeigler answered on the other end to bring the Vols back within two, but both teams followed with scoring droughts that went for nearly three minutes.

Smith ended the scoreless stretch with an and-1 out of a timeout and the ensuing free throw extended the Bulldogs' lead to 15-10 with less than 12 minutes left in the first half.

Aidoo added a free throw but Tennessee's cold streak from the field continued, extending to more than five minutes before Knecht connected on a mid-range jumper to cut its deficit to 16-13.

Knecht's score didn't quell the Vols' shooting woes, though and Mississippi State stayed in front, swelling its lead to double digits at 24-14 after back-to-back threes from Hubbard with six minutes, eight seconds remaining.

Turnovers didn't help. Tennessee gave the ball away 10 times in the the half, leading to 12 Bulldogs points and a 13-point hole at the intermission.

Both teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second half but foul trouble kept Mississippi State's cushion, despite Zielger reaching 15 points with his third 3-pointer four minutes into the half.

Tennessee scored off of two steals created by Knecht and Vescovi to get back within singles digits but Shawn Jones Jr. was left open on the other end of the floor and used the space to score a layup and Hubbard followed with a contested corner three to up the Bulldogs' lead to 12.

A 9-0 run from the Vols, which included three-straight 3-pointers from Knecht and Zeigler pulled Tennessee within three, 49-46 as the clock ticked inside of 13 minutes.

Knecht's scoring burst continued with his third three of the half to make it a two-point game at 51-49, but Hubbard clapped back, lacing his fifth 3-pointer to that point.

Mississippi State threatened to pull away again but a Knecht deep ball and Aidoo layup that rattled around before falling in brought Tennessee within one possession with less than six minutes left.

Knecht free throws evened the score at 62-62, but a 6-0 Bulldogs run allowed them to regain the lead and add some separation at 69-62 as Tennessee went more than two minutes without a basket.

After Mississippi State went up six, Zeigler scored a jumper, then nabbed an inbound pass and scored again to cut the Vols' deficit down to 71-69.

Tennessee had a chance to tie it on its final possession but a turnover led to a transition score for Mississippi State as the clock expired.

Tennessee fell behind at North Carolina in the first half and never fully recovered despite a valiant comeback effort late.

But where mental issues seemingly plagued the Vols in Chapel Hill, it was physical mistakes there were the biggest problem against Mississippi State.

Tennessee turned the ball over 10 times in the first 20 minutes, leading to 12 Bulldogs' points. It was cleaned up more in the second half as the Vols gave it away only six times, but it haunted them the rest of the way.

Tennessee will complete the second of two-straight road games against Georgia on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (11-3, 1-0) opened SEC play with a 75-68 win at Missouri last week and hosted Arkansas on Wednesday.

The Vols beat Georgia in the last meeting between the two teams in Knoxville last season.

Tip-off at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens is set for noon ET on ESPN2.

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