Over the past few days, the 2021-2022 non-conference schedule for Tennessee basketball has begun to pan out. Once again, Rick Barnes is working to navigate what should be an elite team through a brutal slate.
The slate includes the Villanova Wildcats in the Hall-of-Fame Tip-Off and then either the Purdue Boilermakers or North Carolina Tar Heels. UT will also face the Memphis Tigers in Nashville, a team that has recruited extremely well to generate hype next year just like the Vols.
However, an opponent right up the road could give Tennessee basketball a lot more trouble than anybody realizes. Rocky Top is now reportedly set to host the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at some point next year, according to a report from College Basketball Insider Jon Rothstein on Twitter.
Source: Tennessee will host East Tennessee State as part of its 21-22 non-conference schedule.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 25, 2021
Here’s the catch. When ETSU travels to Knoxville from Johnson City, Tenn., it will do so under the leadership of recently departed Vol assistant Desmond Oliver, who replaced Steve Forbes as head coach of the Bucs. Oliver was one of two Barnes assistants to leave this past year, and this is his first coaching job.
When you look at Barnes’ track record against his former assistants, you’ll see that this is actually a dangerous game. For his career, Barnes is 7-5 against his assistants, but a closer look at those games show why ETSU could be dangerous.
Of those seven wins, only one was by double digits. That came in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, when the Texas Longhorns beat the N.C. State Wolfpack 75-54. N.C. State was a No. 10 seed at the time and led by Herb Sendek, who was an assistant under Barnes with the Providence Friars back in the 1980s.
Only twice has Barnes beaten a former assistant by more than one possession. Once again, it came against Sendek. Clemson beat N.C. State while Barnes was with the Tigers by nine in 1997. Sendek in general is the only former assistant Barnes has ever beaten by more than on possession, as Clemson also beat N.C. State by five in 1998.
Still, even with those three wins, Sendek beat Barnes twice, also in 1997 and 1998 with N.C. State. As a No. 10 seed with the Arizona State Sun Devils in 2014, his team lost to Barnes’ Texas Longhorns in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
What about other coaches? Well, Frank Haith, who coacher under Barnes at Texas, then became head coach of the Miami Hurricanes. The U lost only by three to Barnes’ Longhorns in 2008. Then Haith joined the Missouri Tigers, and in their one year in the Big 12 together, Mizzou beat Texas all three times they played each other.
Early in Barnes career, when he was still at Providence, his team barely beat the Manhattan Jaspers in 1990, winning only 79-77. Manhattan was coached by Fran Fraschilla, who coached under Barnes at Providence.
Then there’s Rodney Terry, who coached under Barnes at Texas before becoming head coach of the Fresno State Bulldogs. In 2012, Barnes’ Longhorns beat Fresno State by two. Barnes still has not coached against a former assistant while leading the Tennessee basketball program.
Still, that means in 12 outings vs. former assistants, he either lost or won by just one possession nine times. Many of those times, his opponents were outmatched. Twice he coached a Power Five or Big East program and went up against a mid-major, winning by just one score both times.
Taking all this into account, Oliver could make ETSU dangerous for the Vols. He is one of Barnes’ more longtime assistants, having served under him for six years, and he was integral in helping Barnes build up the UT program.
Don’t count out the fact that ETSU is just two years removed from a 30-4 season either. The program is capable of being a dangerous one, and if Tennessee basketball is not careful, Oliver’s team may give them fits.