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Crazy collapse vs. Kentucky has Tennessee’s Rick Barnes reminiscing on last year
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- Crazy collapse vs. Kentucky has Tennessee’s Rick Barnes reminiscing on last year
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Tennessee basketball had a big lead against Kentucky going into halftime and had the lead for most of the game in general, but in the end, they were not able to get the win. As much as Kentucky has been resilient over the past few games, Tennessee has not been a team that gives up leads regularly.
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Head coach Rick Barnes knows the type of Tennessee teams he's coached throughout his time, and it's been all about defense and physicality. This year's team might not have that same bark, and after their loss to Tennessee, he reminisced about his team from last year.
"We don't lose this game with those guys [Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack ]. No doubt, those guys win these games because they're not going to collapse on defense like that," Barnes said. "That's what it was, a real collapse defensively, and those weren't nearly as talented as these guys are offensively. At the end of the game, I think your defense still wins by taking care of the ball. You do those two things, and rebound the way we normally rebound, we've got a chance.
"We've won a lot of games with teams that are competitive, tough, hard-nosed defensive teams, and rebounding, but they're going to take it personally."
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Tennessee is still in good shape, but they don't want to make things like this become a habit. Barnes knows the strengths of his team , but the hope is that he can get this group to lean more into their defense, something that has led to their success over the years.
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