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Tennessee basketball positives: Rick Barnes happy; Vols tied for 1st in SEC

By Ian McBride

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts in the second half of a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. North Carolina won 78-73. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts in the second half of a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. North Carolina won 78-73. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball’s dominance over the Mississippi State Bulldogs made Rick Barnes happy and has the Volunteers tied for first in the SEC.

It was a great night for Tennessee basketball. The Vols dominated Mississippi State on the road, increasing what they now have to play for. And, on top of that, Rick Barnes wasn’t as critical as he usually is. How could he be?

Barnes chatted with the analysts behind the desk in SEC network studios following last night’s ballgame. He never seems to squander the opportunity to take constructive criticism to his team. However, Tuesday night, Coach seemed pretty pleased with his team’s performance. After all, they did blow out a team on the road on a three-game winning streak.

The Vols wound up with a 76-54 victory after absolutely dismantling the Bulldogs’ game in the second half.  The Tennessee D held Mississippi State to just 20 points in the second half and held them under 40% shooting for the game.

Here, we’re going to analyze Barnes’s post-game conversation. For the full conversation, click here.

Rick Barnes usually touts his team’s defense and is almost always focused on that side of the ball.  But when asked which side of the ball did more for him, he actually said they started running good offense and touted their film study.

That film study appeared to pay off as Admiral Schofield led the team with 24 points and 7 boards.  Lamonte Turner added 12 and Grant Williams produced 8 points with 7 rebounds.  It was a very complete performance top to bottom, with the team shooting a whopping 56% for the game.

Barnes went on to speak about how well his Volunteers guarded the ball. He noted that Mississippi State attacks the rim “like angry birds” and said they focused more on covering gaps in this game.

The usually reserved and critical Barnes went on to call this “a really good win” and said it was a “total team effort.”

Tied for first in the SEC

The Vols move to 22-7 on the season and 12-5 in the SEC.  That puts this year’s Tennessee basketball squad in a tie for 6th in program history for number of wins in a season.  Thanks to a loss by the Auburn Tigers, they are now tied for first in the conference with both posting a 12-5 conference record.  Auburn does get the tiebreaker, but the SEC regular season title is still in play.

A two-game bye in the SEC tourney is a guaranteed prize for their position in the conference standings.

The Vols have one regular season contest remaining.  Tennessee plays Georgia on Saturday and will get the opportunity for revenge after losing to the Dawgs 73-62 in Athens two Saturdays ago.

They can claim the regular season title with a win on Saturday and a little help from South Carolina. That would be their first SEC Championship since 2008. And they will finish at least second. Not bad for a team that was picked to finish 13th in the league.

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