Rick Barnes did not buy into the narrative that Tennessee played dirty against Duke, and was too physical.

“I think playing good, hard basketball, it’s something nice to look at,” Barnes said. “I know our guys played hard. I know Duke played hard. From my perspective, I didn’t see anything dirty from either team.”

Barnes noted that he’s on the rules committee, and the referees did what they thought was right.

“I thought they officiated the game the way they felt it went,” Barnes said. “But from my perspective, I didn’t see anything dirty from either team.”

Asked about being favored against Florida Atlantic, and Barnes said he’s not sure if Tennessee should be favored against a team that won 33 games, which means a “model of consistency” to him, and beat Florida, which beat the Vols.

“Everybody you talk to about them they rave about them as a team that really understands what they want to do together, 33 wins speaks for itself,” he said.

The Vols and Owls will play at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday on TBS.