Tennessee Basketball met Auburn In the SEC tournament semi -finals for a retirement of a close game in January.

This time the 4-Seed vols annoyed the 1-seed tiger to switch to the conference championship game.

Here is everything Tennessee trainer Rick Barnes said about the victory.

Talk about it The Rocky Top Forum

I said it yesterday. The same applies today. Incredible respect for Bruce and Auburn and the job he did there, the year they had.

I thought both teams played their hearts today. It was a high -ranking, hard -fought game in both directions. We did a run early. I don’t think they would run in anyone to come back. You are an excellent team at pressure to include the ball in situations in the late game.

We just spoke to our boys that they have to do a few plays, have to work to open up the ball.

I thought Zakai was great today during the time crossing. I thought how they were connected. We had some mistakes that we couldn’t make when they were running. The time -out. I was really encouraged. The boys said just breathe here, settle down, sit down. Zakai said we will do this in this possession, the next thing that has, the next step is. It was pretty much the way he described it.

Really a great team effort from our boys today. Proud of each of them. Again only a high -ranking, hard -fought game.

I don’t think they listen, do you know? I think you are confiscated somewhere (smile).

I think we let our work speak for it. I’ll watch our league again. I’ll say it. I will be disappointed if we don’t have 14 teams in the NCAA tournament. I think it is obvious that Auburn and Florida played a 1 -seed what they should.

I don’t know. I don’t think you listen. I trust them. I think where we are in today’s game, you will do the best job to do it right for everyone and be fair.

But I don’t think you listen, so you will do what you believe that you have to do it.

I am really proud of our boys. It’s so different. Auburn dealt with the same. Usually everyone has more, at least one day or so to prepare. These fast turnarounds went through and found it last night when we went a little more than usual this morning this morning.

Only proud of the fact that I thought everyone went into the game, did what we needed. D Stones two drives were large pieces. It was important for us to get to the bonus early. I really found that, very important.

Johni Broome is such a hard guy who can protect himself because he happens the ball. We tried to double some of him. Late, when we had a lead of three points, we decided to go back and play it as hard as we could go up and take away the three -point line.

Both teams fought for their hearts again. It was a high -ranking game, it was really. But I’m proud again, I told our boys and I said it is not about plans for this season. I thought both teams showed a lot of toughness, a lot of fighting. Today it came on our way.

Maybe it is someone who is looking for me because I think he helped us on the bench. I think he’s rested where he can do some good things at the end of the game. To be honest, I would not take it out if he was difficult to do. I should probably rest him more. We have been talking about it for four years.

I trust him. We talk through the game. I constantly ask him how he feels. As today, I thought that our offensive, in our floppy action, that Jordan and even z down there when we made Shaq top to play.

But the stupid ones are those that I said last night I want you to pick up a cheap foul. He went out the next possession of the ball and did it. I said you deserve right because it is in his make -up. I don’t want to take that from him.

Today he was in great control over himself because he is so competitive. I mean if you have been in the Huddle and can speak him with his team, the big leader today. The way he developed the game, how it developed, today he had a presence about himself. That was excellent.

I think maybe it has to sit there a little differently. Again he was excellent today.

I think there are many things. Obviously, the transfer portal has played a major role in some situations in which people can quickly rebuild.

You look at Florida. Johni Broome was recruited as a player at the middle level. He is a national player of the year. They look at Zakai, nobody recruited. Jordan Gainey, UFC Upstate. Chaz Lanier, Nordflorida.

The same shows them that they are players on every level. Certainly guard.

I don’t think there was a postman who has risen from a lower level that has the effects of Johni Broome. That doesn’t translate like Garbine that played us. You look around, tell you.

If you come to the NCAA tournaments we have we have, these people are now at these schools we are talking about, they have the chance to play. They are confident that they play.

They look around the league, I always said that there are enough players for everyone. You have to get those who work for you. But parity, is it real? It is. I don’t know where. Here, too, I can now tell you that I can assure you that every big program in the country currently has a transfer portal board that illuminates as you cannot believe. Most of the time it would be the games under the underside who want to go up. If you are now good enough to come, you are good enough to be in the NCAA tournament.

Well, you have to think about it. Yes, it is more difficult because they win that they have to drive for three days in a row. You don’t have to do that, and in between you get a day. There is no day between here.

Such quick turnarounds. It is difficult. I mean, I think as a coach we had our wish that we would probably like to end today because it would be another hard -fought game for two teams tomorrow. They turn around with all the attention that appears in March Madness, they have to concentrate their boys and there.

I only think if you go to the several team tournaments that we have at the beginning of the year, I think that coaches from the three days want to escape. It is a grinding, difficult for you, only because of the fast turnarounds, not the normal preparation.

It is really difficult to win a conference tournament because … we weren’t three days all year round. We have in the past and it is difficult to do that.

He is impressive. We have seen it all year round. When a man gets engaged and locked up. I think volumes talked about him as a pick -and roll. We knew when we recruited him what kind of wonderful person he was.

He lost some dear people shortly before he came to Tennessee. He had a really hard fall when he missed some practice because he only had to fight emotionally. When they lose people who are close to him, like him … but he has thrown back. I think he has so much respect for his teammates, they have for him, he continued to do what we asked him for.

We are not surprised. But most of the time he is under limit in the four position in which he normally plays. But he is a fighter. His drives were huge today. I thought he was working hard to try to do things for us. When you start making different plans that he is not as much out there as everyone else, I thought that he was handling it pretty well today.

I think we are no different from the teams … Again we saw, like teams Lightning, magic in a bottle at this time of year. I have no doubt that Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama go down the list, they all came up with the idea of ​​winning this tournament. I don’t think there is a question. Because of the closer that our league played this year, how many teams you see. I think Ole Miss wins in Alabama. Such things that happen.

If you have this type of victory all year round, you have the feeling that we have a chance, we can play good basketball. I think there are many teams who have the attitude that they will come here, we all want to win a championship. She distinguishes championship.

A championship team is brought back every year to be recognized. Not so many runners -up, but they recognize championship teams. There is no doubt that we have come here with the idea that we want to win a conference championship because we know that it will be really difficult.

Everyone did it, I think. I think so.