How Rick Barnes reacted to Texas being a possible second-round opponent for Tennessee
Tennessee was the last team to pop up in the bottom of the Midwest Region Sunday night during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on CBS. Just above where the Vols would eventually land, Texas flashed on the screen as the No. 7 seed.
“I don’t think anybody said anything about it,” Tennessee fifth-year guard Santiago Vescovi said Sunday night, “but we all kind of saw it.
“As soon as they put Texas, we kind of thought that we were going to be a two seed. And as soon as I saw that bracket pop up before our name, I was like that’s definitely going to be us.”
Rick Barnes was waiting himself. Assuming the Vols were in the Midwest Region and heading to Charlotte, N.C., for the first weekend, the head coach expected one of his past jobs to be the storyline for potential second-round games.
“Honestly,” Barnes said during his media availability on Sunday, “you’re sitting there thinking, well, is it going to be Texas or Clemson?”
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s, Thursday, 9:20 p.m. ET, TNT
Should No. 2 Tennessee (24-8) advance past No. 15 Saint Peter’s (19-13) on Thursday night (9:20 Eastern Time, TNT), the possible second round opponents are No. 7 Texas (20-12) or No. 10 seeds Virginia (23-10) or Colorado State (24-10), with Virginia and Colorado State sent to the First Four in Dayton.
Barnes went 402-180 as the head coach at Texas from 1998 to 2015 — he left Clemson after four seasons, including a Sweet Sixteen run, to take the job at Texas — taking the Longhorns to one Final Four, two Elite Eights and two Sweet Sixteens.
He made his return to Austin for a celebrated homecoming in January 2022, a 52-51 loss in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, and the Vols returned the favor last season, beating the Longhorns 82-71 in Knoxville.
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Shaka Smart replaced Barnes at Texas, taking the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament three times in six seasons but failing to get out of the first round. Chris Beard to Texas to the second round in his lone full season in 2021-22. Rodney Terry, a former longtime Barnes assistant, took Texas to the Elite Eight last season, his first full season on the job after taking over as interim in 2022-23.
Santiago Vescovi: ‘First, we got to definitely focus on Saint Peter’s’
The expectation from Tennessee’s side may have been that Texas would be on the other side of the four-team bracket for the first weekend, but the Vols aren’t looking that far down the road.
“I had that feeling that they were going to have us on the other side of Texas,” Vescovi said, “and I just think that first, we got to definitely focus on Saint Peter’s. We got to play one game at a time, but in case we do get past the first round and they do, too, I think it’s gonna be a fun matchup knowing Coach Barnes’ history there.”
Saint Peter’s know the role of spoiler. The Peacocks went on a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight as a No. 15 seed two years ago, beating No. 2 Kentucky, No. 7 Murray State and No. 3 Purdue before losing to No. 8 North Carolina.
Barnes said Sunday he told his team to view the first weekend as “the Charlotte Invitational.” The only two teams invited, as of now: Tennessee and Saint Peter’s.
“And then we’ll go from there,” Barnes said.
