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Rick Barnes slams use of ‘overrated’ chants following Tennessee’s win over Auburn
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Auburn entered Saturday No. 3 in the country and with a shot to clinch at least a share of the regular-season SEC title. Rick Barnes and Tennessee had other plans.
The Volunteers mounted a big second-half performance against the Tigers after falling behind in the first half. With 4 Tennessee players scoring in double figures – including Zakai Zeigler scoring 13 points off the bench – the Vols rallied for the 67-62 win to tighten the race for the SEC title.
As the clock was winding down, some of the Tennessee fans in Knoxville began the popular “overrated” chants with the No. 17 Volunteers upsetting the No. 3 Tigers. Needless to say, that did not sit well with Tennessee’s head coach.
Barne’s disputed that Auburn was overrated and said use of the chant “discredits” what Tennessee had just accomplished. Instead, Barnes called on fans to simply celebrate the accomplishment.
Rick Barnes is PREACHING about how stupid “overrated” chants.
“One, they’re not overrated. Two, it discredits the win we had over a great team.”
— Ryan Schumpert (@rschump00) February 27, 2022
#Vols coach Rick Barnes showers Tennessee fans with praise with one large caveat. He HATES the “overrated” chant.
“Don’t demean what we just did. We just beat an outstanding basketball team. Celebrate that. I’ve never liked that chant. Auburn is not overrated.”
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) February 27, 2022
With the win, Tennessee is now one game back in the SEC standings with two games left in the season. Auburn can still clinch the regular-season title with two wins but the Vols are within striking distance heading into the final week of the season.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.