Rick Barnes' best wins and moments at Tennessee
Rick Barnes celebrated his 200th win at Tennessee on Thursday, so let's look back at his best wins and moments on Rocky Top
Tennessee basketball took care of business in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Vols' first round win over Saint Peter's was Rick Barnes' 200th victory in Tennessee Orange. Barnes is already the all-time winningest head coach in Texas history, and now sits at 201 career wins at Tennessee heading into the Sweet Sixteen.
That puts Barnes third all-time among Tennessee head coaches and three wins behind Don DeVoe, with 204 career wins. Ray Mears has the most wins in program history with 278 wins. While 278 wins are still possible for Barnes, he's currently preparing the Vols to go on the deepest run in program history.
Barnes has led the Vols to so many great wins against blue blood programs to get the Vols to where they are now. On top of those great wins, Barnes has also led the Vols to three SEC Championships: two regular season championships and one tournament championship.
Let's look back at some of his best moments and wins since coming to Rocky Top.
2016 vs No. 20 Kentucky
Before Barnes became the Vols' head coach, Tennessee struggled to defeat Kentucky. In the past 30 matchups pre-Barnes, Tennessee won six of them. Since Barnes came to Rocky Top, the Vols have won 11 of 21 matchups against the Wildcats.
The Vols' 84-77 win was a big moment for Tennessee basketball. This win in 2016 was the foundational win in the shift of this rivalry. The Vols now have a winning record against Kentucky since Barnes took over the program and seems to be in control of this rivalry.
The 2016 Wildcats team was led by NBA All-Star Jamal Murray, who carried Kentucky to an SEC Tournament Championship before losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. There's no doubt that Kentucky was the better team on the court that night, but this was our first look at what Barnes was bringing to Knoxville.
This win also brought a new era of basketball to Knoxville. We got to see how Barnes' coaching philosophy could fundamentally change how we play basketball. Since that win, Barnes has won many more against Kentucky and other SEC rivals and has the Vols at the top of the conference every year.