Can #7 Kentucky (-17.0) Cover This Hefty Number Vs. Ole Miss?
A win against No. 6 Auburn in December. A win over No. 4 Kentucky in February. And now a win at home last weekend against No. 3 Auburn.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes has led his team through a challenging season but has met each obstacle with an open mind. After all the hard work that the team has put in this season, Barnes had an important message for his players after the Kentucky win.
“Great defense, great win,” Barnes said after the Kentucky win on Feb. 15. “And I’m going to tell you guys – here’s what I want you to know. We’ve beaten two Top 5 teams. We are a national championship contender. I’m telling you and you better know that.”
"We are a National Championship contender."
SEC Inside: @Vol_Hoops pic.twitter.com/d2oGCJGfg0
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 1, 2022
Tennessee/Kentucky: How a Kentucky Fan Ended Up Wearing the Tennessee Orange on Tuesday
This week’s SEC Inside documented the Vols’ win over Kentucky from February, showing new angles and footage of victory. Included in the video was behind-the-scenes looks into the locker room during the postgame celebration, where the national championship quote from Barnes could be heard.
Barnes was saying the message to his players, his coaches, and his staff. But judging from the reactions on social media, it was the exact thing that Tennessee fans wanted to hear with only two games remaining until the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
“Man oh man I got chills!” Twitter user Nick Fine replied. “GBO”
“I love this team so much!! @Vol_Hoops #GBO” Izik Owens replied on Twitter.
“Love this team,” The Vol Network’s Kasey Funderburg replied. “Love Coach Barnes’ opinion on the overrated chant. Love beating Kentucky.”
Additionally, prior to his national championship comment, Barnes addressed another point regarding the Tennessee crowd – the “overrated” chant to the opposition. In fact, Barnes also brought up this topic a few games later after the Vols beat Auburn at home.
“Don’t do that, don’t do that, don’t do that!” Rick Barnes said in the video as the Tennessee student section rained down chants of “overrated” towards Kentucky. “It’s stupid. So stupid. I can’t stand it. I think it’s the dumbest cheer. It doesn’t make you look good.”
Barnes is exactly right. Whether it was the win over Kentucky or the victory against Auburn, why diminish the victory? Sure, I’m all for student sections taking shots at opposing teams (in the right way) because that’s so much of the fun of college athletics. While the overrated chant does get in the head of the opponent, it also lessons your victory.
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) February 27, 2022
