CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tennessee basketball’s NCAA Tournament matchup against Texas was aptly named the Rick Barnes’ bowl due to the veteran head coach’s ties to both schools.
It was a Rick Barnes type of game. The 69-year old head coach’s identity is still in the Texas program with his former assistant Rodney Terry being the Longhorns’ head coach. Defense, toughness and physicality are the things that have made Barnes’ teams consistently successful.
The Vols knocked off Texas 62-58 to return to the Sweet 16 by doing those things on Saturday night.
“Every time we play them we know it’s not going to be Xs-and-Os,” super senior guard Santiago Vescovi said. “It’s more about physicality and I think in those areas— points in the paint. Rebounds and all that stuff that comes into toughness— I think we were better at that tonight.”
It started on the defensive end for Tennessee as it always has for Barnes teams. In 26 years as the head man at Texas and Tennessee, his teams have ranked in the top 20 of adjusted defensive efficiency 11 times.
The Vols made everything difficult for Texas all night. Longhorn stars Dylan Disu and Max Abmas combine to average just shy of 33 points a game. They combined for 22 points on a dreadful seven-of-28 shooting as Texas totaled a hapless .853 points per possession.
“You have to prepare yourself by staying locked in defensively and doing what you’re supposed to do like it’s everyday at practice,” junior guard Jahmai Mashack said after chasing Abmas around for 16 minutes. “This is our standard. This isn’t a surprise that we’re playing this well on the defensive end. This is what we do. Keeping this standard and energy game-in and game-out is going to be important because there is no tomorrow.”
Tennessee’s defensive intensity and physicality was pivotal throughout the game too as they forced 17 Texas turnovers.
“We believe in ball pressure,” Barnes said postgame.
The Vols’ defense was stout and it had to be. Tennessee’s worst shooting performance of the season showed up at the wrong time. The Vols made just three-of-25 three-point attempts and struggled to hit anything away from the rim, making 16 of their 22 field goals at the rim.
More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said After Tennessee Defeated Texas
And despite its offense being markedly improving this season, the core of this Tennessee team has won an abundance of ugly, low scoring games in recent years. There was a familiarity and comfortability playing in the muck that benefitted Tennessee as they withheld numerous second half runs from Texas.
“I’m smiling. I’m having fun,” Mashack said.
“We just be ourselves,” junior point guard Zakai Zeigler said. “If we’re ourselves we’re perfectly fine.”
Tennessee’s rebounding was a critical key to the game that can’t be overlooked. The Vols scored 12 second chance points on 14 offensive rebounds. Senior Josiah-Jordan James grabbed four offensive boards on a night where he came up ginormous with nine points and nine rebounds. The Vols grabbed 33% of their misses on the night while Texas grabbed just 20%.
Barnes’ ninth Tennessee team was simply tougher and more physical than Texas. That’s how they won despite what could have been a catastrophic offensive performance.
“It shows our toughness, our resiliency to be able to win different brands of basketball and always having each other’s back because there’s a lot of times in that game when Texas is making their comeback and we weathered the storm,” James said.
Barnes doesn’t have the best NCAA Tournament track record and his teams’ style of play could be a part of that. But that style was why they were able to get past Texas to return to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
And since Texas fired Barnes nine years ago, the Longhorns have five NCAA Tournament wins. Barnes has eight. A reminder that the grass isn’t always greener.
