CBB: Rick Barnes secures his 800th win as the Vols bludgeon the Aggies
The Tennessee Basketball Volunteers got some revenge on Saturday night in Knoxville. Two weeks ago, the Vols were embarrassed by the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. The Texas A&M backcourt duo of Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford combined for 52 points in an 85-69 beatdown of the Vols. The Vols were outworked on the glass in that contest too, letting Andersson Garcia pull down 17 rebounds while the entire Tennessee team only secured 35 rebounds.
After that game, the Vols played 3 horrendous teams and took care of business in all 3 games, but yesterday was the chance for a reckoning. The Vols had been waiting on this game and for the last 25 minutes it certainly became obvious. However, the first 15 minutes of the rematch against the Aggies went similarly to the game in College Station. Wade Taylor IV hit his first 3 shots from deep. The Aggies were slowing the game down and limiting Tennessee’s possessions. Tennessee was missing open looks. However, a 24-24 tie with 4:36 remaining in the first half seemed to be the point where the Vols decided to wake up. From that point on the Vols went on a 62-27 run to win the game 86-51. Wade Taylor IV scored 2 points in the final 35 minutes. Tyrece Radford was 4-16 from the floor and only managed 11 points. Andersson Garcia only pulled down 8 rebounds. The things that killed the Vols the first time around against the Aggies were neutralized by the team’s preparation.
On the Tennessee side, Dalton Knecht led the team in scoring with 24 points. Zakai Zeigler looked like prime John Stockton as he dished out 14 assists. Jonas Aidoo cleaned the glass with 14 rebounds. The Tennessee Vols turned in a complete team effort on Saturday night that most likely banished the Texas A&M Aggies to the NIT. They also earned themselves a tie for 1st place in the SEC standings as Alabama got shellacked in Rupp Arena. Finally, the cherry on top is that Rick Barnes secured his 800th win as a head coach.
Rick Barnes is the best men’s basketball coach that Tennessee has ever had, and any argument for the likes of Bruce Pearl is nonsensical. Rick Barnes rebuilt this program after Bruce Pearl set it on fire on the way out the door. Cuonzo Martin couldn’t put out that fire, and Donnie Tyndall couldn’t put out that fire. Luckily, Rick Barnes fell into Tennessee’s lap, and he has turned this program into a perennial tournament team. This is easily the best stretch the Tennessee Basketball program has ever had, and the chance for a deep tournament run is rapidly approaching.