Rick Barnes discusses Tennessee's season-ending loss to Michigan
For the first 32 minutes of game time against Michigan, Tennessee appeared well on its way to a trip to the Sweet 16. Then, the script was flipped with the Wolverines ending on a tear while the Vols went ice cold.
In the end, Kennedy Chandler finished the game with 19 points but the rest of the team struggled to various degrees of shooting the ball. The Volunteers finished 2-for-18 from 3-point range with Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler combining to go 0-for-10 from deep.
To make matters worse, the loss adds to a growing trend around head coach Rick Barnes. Going back to his time at Texas, Barnes has advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament just once in his past 10 appearances.
After the loss, Barnes addressed the end of the season for the Volunteers. He admitted that losing in the tournament – early or late – always hurts, and it is supposed to.
#Vols HC Rick Barnes: “I can tell you from experience whether you lose on the first day second day or the semifinals it’s the same feeling. People can say whatever they want to, but you don’t ever take getting here for granted … but it hurts.”
— Kayla Anderson (@KaylaAndersonTV) March 20, 2022
Rick Barnes: “It hurts, it does. And if it didn’t, it would be time to quit.”
— Joe Rexrode (@joerexrode) March 20, 2022
Rick Barnes: “I’ve realized the love the people of Tennessee have for our great state and this university. I don’t care what fan bases are out there — there’s nothing like what we have. It’s been a blessing for me. I’ve loved every minute of it.”
— Jake Nichols (@jnichols_2121) March 20, 2022
Barnes said he told the players that you don’t always get what you want in life, but the key is that you get in the arena and fight for it.
“It hurts. If you were in our locker room, you would know this is a very special group of young men.”
— Jake Nichols (@jnichols_2121) March 20, 2022
