No. 5 Tennessee will look for revenge in a rematch against Texas A&M this weekend, this time in Knoxville. The Aggies defeated the Vols in College Station by a score of 85-69 on Feb. 10.
Both teams have gone in different directions since, though. Tennessee has bounced back for three straight wins against Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Missouri while the Aggies have lost three straight to Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and Alabama.
The Vols and the Aggies will square off at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in the Food City Center.
Ahead of the game coming up on Saturday, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media in Knoxville. Barnes spoke about the development of Cade Phillips, his confidence in Tennessee’s two-big lineup with Awaka and Aidoo, and how Texas A&M has played despite three straight losses in conference play.
“I know one thing, they’ve played hard,” Barnes said about the Aggies’ three loses. “You go back and look at the Alabama game where Alabama I think made 18 threes. (Texas A&M’s) effort was phenomenal. I think they what, 27 rebound offensive rebounds. And Buzz’s teams are going to play hard, but they’re going to go at it. And I think if you talk to coaches in general, it’s when you’re not making shots, it’s difficult. When you are, it makes it look easy, a little bit more room for error. But I can only tell you, they continue to play hard and aggressive and do what they do. But our league has a lot to do with it. And the fact that you know each other so well and games are going to be decided by a couple possessions here or there.”
In addition to Barnes, Tennessee also had freshman Cade Phillips speak with the media. Phillips spoke about his mindset entering this time of the year, improvements that he has made, injury rehab, and much more.
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Check out both interviews from Friday in Knoxville below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee F Cade Phillips
