Rick Barnes explains defensive lapses vs. Auburn, how much Zakai Zeigler's absence impacted game

Rick Barnes‘ Tennessee team did not end the season the way it would have liked by falling to Auburn in a 79-70 loss in Alabama.

The Volunteers defensive in particular fell apart in the second half, giving up 49 points and allowing the Tigers to shoot 55.2% from the field after the break.

Barnes said Tuesday that some of the defensive errors were a lack of communication but the majority of them were just mental mistakes.

“Couple were but some of them were just I don’t know how to say it?,” Barnes said. “You’re like, What are you thinking? And the answer was, ‘we weren’t.’ Those are the ones that are tough when you give up rim shots and different things that happen. This is the smallest details but this time of year those are the things that ended up getting you beat.”

Barnes was then asked about whether the loss of Zakai Zeigler could be felt in the Auburn loss on the defensive end. The head coach said yes but felt you see his impact more on the offensive end than on the defensive end, despite Zeigler being an All-SEC defender.

“A little bit here or there, but maybe his presence too,” Barnes said. “You take 182 assists out of the game for the year and his presence. He’s been a big part of our team this year. So I would imagine, and you could ask the guys going into the game, wondering themselves without having him because he’s been a mainstay for us this year. I’m sure it was in the back of their mind wondering [at] the end of the game, how we’re going to do this. How we’re going to do that. That’s why I think it’s good that we get back to playing as quick as we can. I just know I got a lot of confidence in these guys. We went in and went through the entire season yesterday in our film session. Talked about what we’ve learned from each game and now it’s time to put all that to work.”

2023 SEC Tournament seeding and early schedule

Here’s a look at the final SEC standings before next week’s SEC Basketball Tournament in Nashville, Tenn.

1. Alabama (26-5, 16-2 SEC)
2. Texas A&M (23-8, 15-3 SEC)
3. Kentucky (21-10, 12-6 SEC)
4. Missouri (23-8, 11-7 SEC)
5. Tennessee (22-9, 11-7 SEC)
6. Vanderbilt (17-13, 10-7 SEC)
7. Auburn (20-11, 10-8 SEC)
8. Florida (16-15, 9-9 SEC)
9. Mississippi State (20-10, 8-9 SEC)
10. Arkansas (19-12, 8-10 SEC)
11. Georgia (16-15, 6-12 SEC)
12. South Carolina (11-20, 4-14 SEC)
13. Ole Miss (11-20, 3-15 SEC)
14. LSU (13-18, 2-16 SEC)

Tennessee will play the winner of South Carolina and Ole Miss on Thursday afternoon.

Wednesday, March 8
Game 1: South Carolina vs. Ole Miss – 7 p.m. ET – SEC Network
Game 2: Georgia vs. LSU – 9 p.m. ET – SEC Network

Thursday, March 9
Game 3: Mississippi State vs. Florida – 1 p.m. ET – SEC Network
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Tennessee – 3 p.m. ET – SEC Network
Game 5: Arkansas vs. Auburn – 7 p.m. ET – SEC Network
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Vanderbilt – 9 p.m. ET – SEC Network