Why Rick Barnes spiked his water bottle while arguing travel call in Tennessee's loss at Auburn

AUBURN, Ala. — Rick Barnes didn’t turn toward the Tennessee bench and spike the water bottle in his hand because he thought the walk called on Felix Okpara was wrong. The head coach admitted his transfer center did walk with one minute, 32 seconds left at No. 1 Auburn Saturday night. 

What Barnes was arguing, and what sent water spilling across the floor near his seat on the bench, was what led to the walk. 

Barnes said after the game he believed Okpara was grabbed and forced to walk on the play. There was no foul called on Auburn’s Johni Broome, though.

“I thought he was held,” Barnes said after No. 6 Tennessee’s 53-51 loss at Neville Arena. “I mean, it’s a physical game and I just don’t think from what I saw, I thought (Broome) had two hands on his shoulders and can’t — I don’t know what we can do.

“And I thought we should have did a better job getting it in, but (Auburn does) a really good job in those situations, too.” 

Rick Barnes: ‘I don’t think you can put two hands on somebody’s shoulders’

Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC) led Auburn (18-1, 6-0) 51-49 and was inbounding the basketball with 1:34 left when the play happened. Okpara had the ball near the visiting bench, just in front of Barnes, when he was called for a walk. 

Had a foul been called on Broome, Okpara would’ve been shooting free throws with a chance to put the Vols up four with 1:32 left.

The Tigers didn’t score on the following possession — Broome missed the front end of a one-and-one after grabbing an offensive rebound — but Miles Kelly hit the go-ahead 3-pointer from the corner with 30 seconds left to lift Auburn in the last-minute rally. 

It was the home team’s first lead in nearly four minutes in the defensive slugfest.

“It was a high-level game,” Barnes said.

Igor Milcic drove to the rim with 14 seconds left but was blocked by Broome. Zakai Zeigler had a look at a corner three of his own with five seconds left after Tahaad Pettiford made one of two free throws with 12 seconds left to make it a two-point game — but the shot missed as Auburn got the rebound and ran out the clock. 

Zeigler said afterward that his corner three was the look the Vols wanted out of the timeout. Barnes added that he had no problem with the Milicic drive to the rim on the previous possession. 

“I think they made a block (on Milicic),” Barnes said, “but again, he was aggressive, took it there.”

Tennessee got 14 points, six rebounds and five assists from Zeigler. Chaz Lanier scored eight of his 10 points in the second half and Jahmai Mashack had seven points and six rebounds. 

Okpara had six points and nine rebounds and Jordan Gainey had eight points and four rebounds off the bench. 

Johni Broome had 16 points, 13 rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench

Broome led Auburn with 16 points and 13 rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench, returning after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury. 

“There was no doubt in our mind he was going to play,” Barnes said of Broome, who was listed as questionable on Friday night’s injury report, then updated to a game-time decision on Saturday. 

“We knew he was going to play. So we prepared all week for him to be there.” 

Barnes also knew Okpara traveled in a game-changing sequence, but he thought there was reason Okpara traveled. 

“I think he traveled,” Barnes said, “but I don’t think you can put two hands on somebody’s shoulders. That’s what my (assistant) coaches told me was (what) they saw, when they looked at it well before the game was over.

“And maybe it didn’t, it didn’t happen. He traveled. He definitely traveled. Whether he had help doing it, you have to look at it. I haven’t seen it yet.”