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Rick Barnes after Ole Miss loss: 'We didn't deserve to win this basketball game'

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•03/06/25•

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Rick Barnes, Tennessee Basketball | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes during a college basketball game between Tennessee and Syracuse held at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.

Rick Barnes isn’t sugar coating his team’s performance. After the Volunteers’ 78-76 loss to Ole Miss on Wednesday, the Tennessee head coach didn’t mince words.

“We didn’t deserve to win this basketball game,” Barnes said. “When you make those kind of mental mistakes, you don’t deserve to play against the team that is well-coached and played as hard as they played. And they made shots on us.

“Again, you let a team get comfortable and you’re not as aggressive and you’re not playing smart. Offensive rebounding can just take the wind out of your sail. And they did a great job getting there and, I think, 46 points in the paint. I don’t know what else I can say. Just disappointed. Most of the time in games like this, certainly from where I’m sitting right now, I think you get what you deserved. And we deserved to lose because we didn’t make enough plays to win the game.”

In the loss, Tennessee allowed Ole Miss to record 15 offensive rebounds compared to its mere eight. The Rebels’ offensive rebounds were only one sign of their dominance down low.

Ole Miss outscored Tennessee 46-20 in paint points. Thanks to their efforts, the Rebels ultimately recorded 14 more shot attempts than Tennessee in the game.

Ole Miss senior guard Dre Davis was particularly effective on the glass, hauling in a game-high 10 rebounds. While Rick Barnes doesn’t want to take away from Ole Miss’ victory, he knows his team can play much better than what they showed on Wednesday night.

“You got to give them all the credit,” Barnes said. “Even when we had a chance to maybe stretch it out a bit, (we had) some turnovers, just throwing the ball out of bounds, not getting the ball inbounds, all those type things. That’s being intense, that’s being focused, that’s doing your job.

“Because they played hard. (Chris Beard’s) teams play hard. But again, I just don’t want to take anything away from them. Because they did what they had to do to win the game and we didn’t.”

Tennessee won’t have to wait long to attempt to redeem itself. On Saturday, the Volunteers will square off against South Carolina at 2 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network. If they win, the Volunteers are guaranteed a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.