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Rick Barnes wants No. 4 Tennessee just to be 'ready to play' over tough two-week stretch

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•02/28/24•

GrantRamey

Tennessee Basketball
Tennessee Athletics

A span of nine days in November was impossibly tough. Tennessee played Purdue and Kansas on back-to-back days in the Maui Invitational, at the time the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, then came home and went to North Carolina. 

The Vols went 0-for-3, but still could be staring down an even harder task over the final two weeks of the regular-season schedule.

The fourth-ranked Vols (21-6, 11-3 SEC) host No. 11 Auburn (21-6, 10-4) on Wednesday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN2), then go to No. 14 Alabama on Saturday night. They stay on the road at No. 18 South Carolina, then come back home to host No. 16 Kentucky on Senior Day at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 9 in the regular-season finale.

Four games left. Four ranked opponents. Four Quad 1 games. 

“This time of year,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his press conference on Tuesday, “if you’re not excited there is something wrong.”

Vols currently projected as top No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament

The Vols are currently projected by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi as the top No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, with the fourth No. 1 seed still up for grabs.

Then there’s the SEC standings. With the 86-51 win over Texas A&M Saturday night, paired with Alabama’s loss at Kentucky, Tennessee moved into a tie for first with the Crimson Tide.

Auburn and South Carolina are both a game back, tied for second. Kentucky is two games back, tied with Florida. 

“We’ve been in control of our own destiny all season long,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said on Tuesday, “and the only way we remain in control is if we can pull off the upset.”

Wednesday is Tennessee’s first meeting of the season with Auburn, which is 5-4 over its last nine games, after starting 16-2 with five straight SEC wins. The Vols beat Alabama 91-71 at Thompson-Boling Arena in January and beat Kentucky 103-92 at Rupp Arena in February.

South Carolina’s 63-59 upset of the Vols in Knoxville on January 30 remains Tennessee’s only home loss this season. 

“There’s really no other way to look at it,” Barnes said, “other than this is what we have and we’ve got to be ready, knowing that everybody we’re playing is just as good as we are and could be better, if we’re not ready to play. But it’s here. It’ll go by quicker than we all can imagine.”

No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Auburn, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Tennessee moved up to No. 4 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll on Monday, its highest ranking of the season in each poll. The Vols are No. 5 in the NET and No. 6 in the KenPom.com ratings. 

But regardless of number, ratings and rankings, Barnes just wants to keep moving forward, focusing on the next day, not the next four games. 

“It’s about us getting better,” Barnes said. “And I know you guys get tired of me saying that, but it’s consistency, getting better, all that mindset. And it’s something that each day you’ve got to talk about it … trying to just keep a focus really on where we are as a team and when we’re here together and make the most of that time and when the lights come on that we’re ready to play.” 

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