After three straight losses to Kansas, Syracuse, and Illinois, Tennessee basketball has their backs against the wall early in the year. The worst part is, is the schedule doesn't get any easier, in fact it gets harder. Their next game is at home against a Louisville team that is ranked 6th in the country.
After Saturday night's performance, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes didn't shy away from letting the media know how he felt about his team's recent play. The offense stalled out in the last ten minutes, and over and over again, we saw the same miscues happening on defense.
Rick Barnes called out his Vols, saying, "I still think our guys don't understand what exactly goes into winning."
"I still think our guys don't understand what exactly goes into winning."
— John Sartori (@JohnSartoriTV) December 7, 2025
Rick Barnes didn't mince words following Tennessee's third straight loss. Barnes praised Bishop Boswell's leadership, but says the #Vols have failed to do what's necessary to win since defeating Houston. pic.twitter.com/q0hIrxsyYw
Rick Barnes say the Vols need to understand what goes into winning
Barnes also went on to say he would have won last night's matchup versus Illinois had he had ten timeouts to use. I get where Barnes is coming from. Players need to do the necessary things to give Tennessee basketball the best shot to win because ultimatelty it comes down to the Jimmys and the Joes.
Here’s where I push back, Barnes is the CEO of this team, and at the end of the day, this team's struggles fall on him. Barnes knows this squad better than any of us, and maybe publicly calling them out was needed, but it can't be all on the players. Barnes is responsible too.
All of this leads to one thing, and it's that the Vols need a spark, and they need it badly. This team is talented; they didn't just luck into beating Houston, but the focus now for Tennessee basketball is to break the losing streak and show some improvement on both ends of the floor.