Rick Barnes reveals what changed in second matchup vs. Florida

There likely won’t be a two-game series in college basketball with more of a severe point swing in their two meetings than Tennessee and Florida. Splitting the series 1-1, Florida won the first meeting 73-43 before Tennessee’s 64-44 win on Saturday.

Less than a month separated the two dates. So, what changed? Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes revealed it might not be as complicated as the numbers may indicate.

“Things from game to game don’t change as much as probably people think they do,” Barnes explained during his postgame press conference. “I mean, matchups, the way they’re played and all that. But in terms of winning basketball games, you have to take care of the fundamentals. You’ve got to rebound the ball, you’ve got to take care of the ball, you hope you make shots.

“That’s something that if you asked every coach before the game, if you could have one thing tonight, they’ll say let’s make a lot of shots. And you guys have been around the game to know that doesn’t always happen. But you’ve got to be able to find a way to stay in games when you’re not making shots and hope at some point in time you make enough to help you win them.”

When the two teams met for the first time on Jan. 7, Tennessee shot 4 of 29 (13.8%) from the 3-point line while logging just six assists as a team. The biggest difference came on the glass, however, as Florida hauled in 56 boards compared to 37 from the Vols.

In their second meeting on Saturday, Tennessee shot an improved 27.3% (6-22) from deep. They were also able to defend the perimiter much better, forcing Florida to shoot 4 of 27 (14.8%) from beyond the 3-point line. The rebounding mark was closer than the last game at 40-37 in favor of Tennessee this time around. In what seems to be a trend for the losing team in this series, Florida only totaled five assists on the night.

“We don’t ever want to let people get out and get easy baskets,” Barnes continued. “That’s transition, defense, rebounding, taking care of the ball. If you do that, and hopefully play defense where we’re capable of, it gives us a chance at the end to maybe win.”

The two programs won’t meet again during the regular season, but could meet a third time in the postseason, either in the SEC or NCAA Tournaments.

For now, the Vols will move on to host No. 20 Missouri on Wednesday night. The Tigers are coming off an 88-61 win over Mississippi State on the road. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network.