Rick Barnes shares thoughts from film on Texas game

Saturday’s victory over the Texas Longhorns was significant for the Tennessee Volunteers on many levels. First, it gave them a quality victory over a quality opponent outside of the SEC. Second, it was a tally in the win column for the SEC in the SEC Big 12 challenge. And it also gave Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes a victory over the program he was once in charge of. On Monday, after getting some time to go over the film and recap the matchup, Barnes shares thoughts from the film of the game.

“Well, one, it was a really hard-fought game both ways. I mean, both teams weren’t giving up a lot on the defensive end,” said Barnes. “I thought the second half; it’s my fault certainly; I thought Santi, probably more than anyone, got a little fatigued. And then Marcus Carr didn’t play much in the first half, and he came back and was certainly fresh in the second half.”

A few Texas starters found themselves in foul trouble in the first half of the game, allowing the Volunteers to take a 12-point lead into the half. Tennessee was paced by senior forward Oliver Nkamhoua, who finished the first half with 14 of his 27 points. However, in the second half, the Longhorns’ offense woke up, giving the Volunteers’ defense some fits.

Tennessee’s defensive trouble in the second half against Texas resulted in the Longhorns outscoring the Volunteers 43-42 in the half. And regardless of the win, Barnes was not happy with the defense after reviewing the film.

“We uncharacteristically gave up some backup that we normally don’t give up. We don’t give up that many, and they had a couple. And again, you gotta give them credit. They were cutting and moving. But we got, on some of the switches, things that we play against all year. We weren’t as clean as we needed to be. Defensively, we’ve gotta get better there, and that’s just communication; we can fix that. But overall, the effort, getting to the glass, trying to block out, and really playing together is what really jumped out. I didn’t think anybody really tried to force anything… Overall it was a really hard-fought basketball game.”

With the victory, Tennessee picked up win number 18 on the season, bringing their record to 18-3. Up next for the Volunteers is a trip down south to Gainesville, FL, to take on the Florida Gators. That game will be on Feb 1 at 6:00 PM from the Gators home of the Stephen C O’Connell center. Tip-off for that matchup it’s scheduled for 6:00 PM CT and can be viewed on ESPN2.