No. 10 Tennessee fell to No. 17 North Carolina in a high-scoring 100-92 contest on Wednesday evening in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Tar Heels exploded out of the gates on Wednesday and jumped up to a major lead over Tennessee that ballooned to a 22-point lead over the Vols at halftime. North Carolina’s 61 points were the most points that Tennessee has allowed in a half since the 2006 season.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes called it the “worst basketball half” he has seen one of his teams play.
“I told our team at halftime, it’s the worst basketball half (from a) team I’ve ever coached,” Barnes said after the game. “Never seen a team that has the ability that we have that can be that bad in the first half. I thought that, there’s no doubt I knew that North Carolina, Hubert (Davis) would have them ready to come out and really be aggressive and play hard.”
Things changed in the second half for Tennessee, though. The Vols’ defense improved significantly in the final 20 minutes while forward Dalton Knecht popped off for 37 total points in the game. Tennessee’s second-half comeback effort made the game interesting but North Carolina was able to hang on to secure the eight-point win.
Barnes spoke to the media after the game and gave several honest reactions to how the game unfolded. Barnes spoke about Tennessee’s mindset in the first half and the disappointment he had seeing Tennessee’s play in the first 20 minutes. Barnes also spoke about how proud he was of the fight and the effort in the second half, though. Barnes had complimentary things to say about Zakai Zeigler’s game, Jonas Aidoo’s improvements, Dalton Knecht’s scoring, and much more.
In addition to Barnes, Tennessee guard/forward Josiah-Jordan James also briefly spoke to the media after the game as well.
More from RTI: Tennessee Comeback Bid Comes Up Short At North Carolina
Check out both interviews from Wednesday night in Chapel Hill below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee Guard/Forward Josiah-Jordan James
