Rick Barnes praises Jerry Stackhouse’s scheme, criticizes Tennessee defense

After annihilating the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road on Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers returned home to take on their in-state SEC East rival Vanderbilt. The Volunteers would pick up the win 77-68, but it was no walk in the park for Rick Barnes‘ squad. After the game, the Tennessee head coach praised Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse for his scheme against the Volunteers while criticizing Tennessee’s defense.

“Well, to start the first half, I think you have to give a lot of credit to Vandy. They got down, they didn’t flinch either, and they’re not,” said Barnes. “Every time I’ve coached against Stackhouse, his teams stay in it; they’re not going to quit. Because honestly, they’ve got a lot of his personality where they’re going to fight you every step that they can and will.

“Our veterans, in the first half, I didn’t think they were very good. The last play at the end of the first half is one of the worst plays since I’ve been here. You let somebody, with that time on the clock, dribble the ball the length of the floor, and nobody stopped the ball. That can’t happen. That was a really bad play. I just thought early our veterans, from a defensive standpoint, had some breakdowns that they cannot have.”

Barnes believes John Calipari will “have his team ready” vs. Tennessee

This Saturday, Kentucky travels to the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tn. to take on the Volunteers. KenPom currently projects a 72-59 Volunteer victory and gives the Cats just an 11% chance to win.

Tennessee has the best defense in all of college basketball. The Vols rank first in defensive efficiency, second in scoring defense (53.4 ppg.) and second in shooting defense (33.5%). The Wildcats have no time to mope around or they’ll get mopped by the border rival.

“In practice, I gotta hold them accountable. I gotta make this hard,” Calipari said in his postgame radio remarks. “And we’re gonna play a physical team Saturday. When they screen you, they try to take you off the floor. Like, lift you. And if you’re not ready to fight and screen them the same way, you’ve got no chance. So, you know we got work to do.”

Despite the Wildcats’ 71-68 loss to South Carolina, Barnes believes Kentucky head coach John Calipari will “have his team ready” come Saturday.

“I’ll say the same about John Calipari’s teams,” Barnes said after a 77-68 victory over Vanderbilt, “they’re going to get better. They’re going to keep getting better.”

“The fact is, I have so much respect for John. I’ve known him for a lifetime in this business, he’ll have this team ready. I think our guys certainly know that.”