Tennessee HC Rick Barnes blames 2 fatal flaws for awful first half vs. Houston
03/30/2025 09:24 PM
An abysmal first half against Houston cost Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers a chance to reach their first Final Four in program history.
Throughout the first 20 minutes, the Volunteers only scored 15 points. They were unable to get their shot to fall through the hoop, only being successful on six of their 28 total attempts, including 1-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Barnes reflected on the team’s first-half struggles after the game. He praised their will to not quit but pointed out that things could’ve been different if they were assertive in other areas.
“If we’d just given up half that many [offensive rebounds] and made a few open shots, who knows. But the game went the way it went. Our guys never quit playing hard. I knew they wouldn’t quit, and they didn’t,” Barnes said.
What’s next for Rick Barnes, Tennessee
It was brutal for Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers, falling 69-50 to the Houston Cougars in the Elite 8 on Sunday.
When the game ended, the Volunteers had low shooting splits of 29% overall and 17% from three. This was in stark contrast to Houston’s accuracy of 42% and 36% in those respective categories. The Cougars also won 40-34 in rebounds, showing their physicality had the upper hand over their counterparts.
Only two players scored in double-digits for the Volunteers. Chaz Lanier led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds but shot 4-of-18 overall, including 2-of-12 from deep. Meanwhile, Jordan Gainey had 17 points and three rebounds.
Tennessee ended the season with a 30-8 overall record, having gone 12-6 in SEC Play. They averaged 74 points on 45.2% shooting from the field, including 33.8% from downtown. As a result, they beat opponents by a margin of 10.9 points per game.
The Volunteers will enter the offseason with questions to answer. They will retool their roster with the motivation of making their first-ever Final Four still in progress.
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