Rick Barnes says Vols are 'gonna have class' following heated postgame moment with Florida

Tennessee is looking good for another trip to the NCAA Tournament, knocking off Florida Wednesday night for a 3rd straight win since a road loss to Kentucky.

In the showdown with the Gators, the Volunteers erased a halftime deficit before storming all the way back for the 78-71 win. It was a chippy contest with the two teams combining for 35 fouls in the action.

After the game, the two teams exchanged a heated moment in the postgame handshake line. A couple of Gators had to be restrained while a few Vols chomped in direction of Florida players.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes addressed the incident after the game. Barnes said the Vols are “gonna have class” when faced with these incidents. He admitted to the competitively charged atmosphere of a hard-fought game but said the Vols “have to walk away.”

#Vols coach Rick Barnes on postgame kerfuffle with Florida: I understand how competitive it is out there. I do. I really do. But we’re gonna have a classy program. We’re gonna have class here. You have to walk away. We’re not gonna talk to opposing benches. We’re not doing that.

— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) January 27, 2022

It will be interesting to see if Florida’s players have a similar perspective after the postgame incident.