Vols ignoring the Tennessee-Texas storylines in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

Josiah-Jordan James expected something different from Rick Barnes, maybe some a little more. A little over two years ago, Tennessee was going to Texas for a Big 12-SEC Challenge game as Barnes made his return to Austin. 

Texas staff members wore shirts pregame that paid tribute to Barnes with a picture of the former longtime coach of the Longhorns, with “Reunite the Family” was written across the back. Outside the Frank Erwin Center, on a loading dock wall near where the Tennessee bus parked, a sign read “Thank you, Coach Barnes.”

When Barnes stepped off, he waved to fans at a distant and greeted local Texas media members that covered parts of his 17-year career there. Just before tipoff, there was a tribute video, too, with Barnes watching courtside then waving to the capacity crowd that surrounded him.

But in the locker room and in the days leading up to the game, Barnes was Barnes. 

“I was expecting him to have a little bit of, I don’t know, something else to him,” James said Thursday night. “But he didn’t. It was just another game. Another game that he wants to win. 

“But I feel like every game he goes out, you’d feel like it’s the national championship game the way he prepares, the way he’s on edge. I wouldn’t say there’s a change in him, no matter the opponent.”

Vols advanced out of first round in NCAA Tournament with 83-49 win over Saint Peter’s

The next game out is No. 2 Tennessee (25-8) facing No. 7 Texas (21-12) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The second-round game is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS, with a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line.

The Vols beat No. 15 Saint Peter’s 83-49 Thursday night, after the Longhorns advanced with a 66-54 win over No. 10 Colorado State. 

“Obviously you want to show who the better UT is,” James said. “And it goes back to that. But we can’t make it more than it is.”

Tennessee faced Texas each of the last two seasons, losing 52-51 in Austin in January 2022 and winning 82-71 at Thompson-Boling Arena last season, with the Longhorns making the return trip in the final edition of the Big 12-SEC Challenge. 

Texas coach Rodney Terry, a former high school coach in the state of Texas, spent 10 seasons working for Barnes from 2002-11, before going to Fresno State and UTEP as head coach, then returning to the Longhorns in 2021. 

Chris Ogden, who followed Barnes to Tennessee and was with the Vols for the 2015-16 season, is one of Terry’s assistant coaches. So is Frank Haith, another former longtime Barnes assistant. 

“They know us, we know them,” James said. “A lot of those guys worked with Coach Barnes. But we’re not going to make it more than what it is. It’s a game. They’re a team that is in our way.”

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Texas, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, CBS

In Austin, Tennessee trailed by 16 with 5:34 left, went on a 16-0 run to tie the game, but lost on a free throw with six seconds left. The Vols last season got 27 points from Olivier Nkamhoua, 22 from Zakai Zeiger, 14 from James and 12 from Santiago Vescovi in the 82-71 win in Knoxville.

“I know we want to be really physical with them,” James said. “They’re a physical team. And I think in each matchup the (team) that started the fight was able to finish it and win it in the end.”

Now the Vols believe winning the rubber match, and staying alive in the NCAA Tournament, will come down to ignoring all the Tennessee-Texas storylines.

“We’re focused on winning games,” Vescovi said. “We don’t really care about all that outside noise. That can get you not focused on the games. It could be Texas, it could be anyone that we step in front of. 

“We know we got to win if we want to survive and keep playing. We just have to keep showing up.”

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