“We’ve seen teams catch lightning, magic in a bottle this time of year. Well said, Rick Barnes! The Tennessee Volunteers pulled off one of the greatest heists in the SEC Tournament on Saturday, edging No. 1 seed Auburn 70-65 in a defensive slugfest at Bridgestone Arena, and we’re beginning to wonder whether the Vols have caught lightning in a bottle. Zaikai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier overpowered the Tigers, and they’re all set to play against Florida in the conference finals on Sunday.

The biggest difference between Tennessee and any other team is their defense. Barnes’ Vols allow an astonishingly low 62.3 points per game, and rank third nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom, trailing only Houston and Iowa State. However, even with their fabulous win over Auburn, some analysts aren’t fully sold on the team making a deep playoff run.

On The Field of 68: After Dark, show hosts Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman discussed Tennessee’s strength and the opportunity they have for a Final Four push. However, Dauster wasn’t completely sold on the team. “I can’t buy all the way in on this team. Every time I get all the way in on Tennessee, they end up collapsing.” He said, bringing to light Tennessee’s odd track record over the past few years.

Dauster’s hesitation stems from Barnes’ 7-8 NCAA Tournament record with Tennessee since 2015, including a 2024 Elite Eight loss to No. 1 Purdue that fell short of the Final Four.

There’s no doubt about Rick Barnes’ resume during his time as the Vols head coach. Aside from some growing pains in his first two years, he has consistently taken his team to March Madness. Under Barnes, Tennessee has 2 Sweet Sixteen appearances, and one Elite Eight appearance, but they always miss out on going further.

Rick Barnes hasn’t figured out the secret to heading back to the Final Four. He’s only been there once, with Texas, in 2003, but Jeff Goodman thinks this might be the year. “You’ve done this every year. For the last three years, you’ve gone all in, and it’s backfired.” He replied to Dauster’s pessimism, understanding where he was coming from. Tennessee looked like a sure-shot championship contender last year, but they failed to convert their opportunity. But this year feels different for Goodman. “I have never put all my chips in on the Tennessee Vols. I’m putting them all in at this point in saying Tennessee is going to be a Final Four team.”

Goodman’s optimism aligns with Tennessee’s 27-6 record and a projected No. 1 seed after Selection Sunday on March 16, 2025, bolstered by their Auburn win, though some X posts still lament Barnes’ ‘March curse’ from past flops like 2019 and 2021.

Tennessee’s matchup with Florida for the SEC title will set the mood going forward. If they win, the momentum they’ll take forward will surely help them in the NCAA Tournament. However, their past struggles have shown that it’s not always so clear-cut in the postseason. Rick Barnes will have to pull out every trick in the book as he heads to the Big Dance, and he did a really good job of it against Auburn!

Rick Barnes’ game-winning strategy in the clutch against Auburn

In the last ten minutes of their matchup against Auburn, the Tennessee Vols found another gear. Rick Barnes’ team went on an insane run, turning just a 49-48 lead into a 12 point game within just 4 minutes. Not only that, their defense was on point, as they only allowed Auburn to score four points.

Rick Barnes was a happy man after the game, as he expressed pride in his squad. “I’m really proud of our guys.” The Tennessee head coach said, as he talked about how the last ten minutes of the game were something special.

The biggest problem for the Vols was Johni Broome. The six-foot-ten forward had 23 points and 7 rebounds in their hard-fought loss against Tennessee. Broome, the 2025 SEC Player of the Year averaging 18.2 points and 9.8 rebounds, shot 9-of-13 but was contained late by Jahmai Mashack’s physical defense and Barnes’ tactical shifts. But Barnes didn’t let him get away with the game. “Johni Broome is such a tough guy to guard because he passes the ball. We started trying to double him some.” He said, before talking about the late game strategy for the NPOY candidate.

An interesting stat-line for Broome was that he didn’t shoot a single three in the entire game. Not even late in the game, when a made shot from deep would change the flow of the game. According to Barnes, though, it was a planned decision. “Late when we had a three-point lead, we decided we were going to go back and play him as hard as we could straight up and take away the three-point line.” Safe to say, the ploy worked out. Auburn and Johni Broome suffered quite an unexpected loss, and Tennessee reaped the rewards of a brilliant defensive performance!

It will be interesting to see how Rick Barnes navigates the March Madness tournament. His tenure at Tennessee has been quite successful, but he hasn’t yet managed to breach the Final Four barrier. Will he manage to break his 22 year old curse? Or will the Vols fall prey to their usual patterns again? Only time will tell.