Rick Barnes reacts to Tennessee win over Texas A&M in SEC title game

Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers took down the Texas A&M Aggies 65-50 on Sunday afternoon to secure the 2022 SEC Tournament title. Barnes was ecstatic following the victory and complimentary of the Aggies.

“I have (emotions), believe me,” Barnes began, with Josiah-Jordan James at his side. “For these guys, what they’ve done all year. I’m obviously happy for them, we know we still have more work to do.”

“Again, I’ve got to really compliment Texas A&M for what they did in this tournament and what they did for four days, I really felt it caught up with them there in the end,” Barnes continued. “I just thank god for the blessing of having a chance to do what I get to do and for the chance to coach these young men.

“We talked about at the end of last season, if we were going to get where we wanted to go, we were going to have to have more leadership within. … It’s come from within. I’ve told the guys for the last two days, this is a players’ game. This is the time of the year for the players. No play is going to work right now, they’re going to have to do it and it starts with their leadership.”

Tennessee grabs first tournament title since 1979

The Vols came into the game on a six-game win streak but coming off of wins versus Florida, Auburn and Arkansas, the Aggies proved just as hot this week. Unfortunately for Buzz Williams’ squad, Tennessee took off with an early 16-2 lead and only let the Aggies get within five points of tying it up. They held Texas A&M to a season-low 50 points on Sunday.

Rick Barnes and his squad beat Mississippi State 72-59 and Kentucky 69-62 on their way to the championship game.

Tennessee secured its first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979 and their fifth overall in program history. Now, the Vols must wait just a few hours before the selection committee reveals their position in the official March Madness bracket. Tennessee has a shot at a No. 2 seed with their tournament victory.