Rick Barnes compares Jabari Smith to NBA star, praises Auburn following Tennessee's win

While home fans chanted “overrated” at the visiting Auburn Tigers after No. 17 Tennessee shocked No. 3 Auburn by a 67-62 final in Thompson-Boling Arena, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes was effusive in his praise of the Tigers.

Led by star freshman Jabari Smith, a projected top-five pick in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft, Auburn took to Knoxville in pursuit of a road win, something that no visiting team had done this season. Smith was a former five-star recruit, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, and he’s certainly looked the part of a top recruit this season — he’s averaging 16.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, all while helping Auburn catapult to the top of the SEC and earn the program’s first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll. But despite a 27-point, eight-rebound effort from Smith, Barnes’ Tennessee team managed to stay undefeated at home.

Barnes first came to Tennessee in 2015, after serving as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, and he saw something in Smith that reminded him of a former Longhorn — one that happens to be headed to the Hall of Fame in Kevin Durant.

“Bruce (Pearl) is a very smart coach and a terrific basketball coach. When you’ve got a guy like that (Jabari Smith), that talented —,” Barnes said, pausing his speech as he drew the parallel to Durant. “I mean, Kevin Durant, (when Barnes was at Texas) — we had a team where six out of the top seven were freshmen, and he played 36 minutes for a reason. He averaged 26 points a game. It’s hard not to give him the ball because it’s not like they’re selfish players. You know they’ll make the right read if they get double teamed and pass the ball. The fact is, we were switching a few times down there (while trying to contain Smith).”

Smith was still a big factor in Saturday’s contest, but the Volunteers managed to mitigate the damage from center Walker Kessler, a UNC transfer that has been one of Auburn’s best performers to date. Kessler, who’s averaging nearly a double-double this season and has even notched a triple-double on two separate occasions, had a relatively tame performance by his standards, turning in eight points, five rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Barnes drew up a solid defensive gameplan, and Tennessee converted — but that didn’t stop the fans from raining down “overrated” chants at Auburn, with which Barnes took issue.

It’s become a common occurrence in Thompson-Boling Arena, and it takes away from Tennessee’s season-defining victory over Auburn, Barnes argued.

“It is a longstanding feeling. I have never understood (the overrated chants). You just had a great, quality win against a team that first of all is not (overrated). Your fans are acting like you beat nobody,” Barnes said. “Well, we did. We just beat a top-5 team. One, they are not overrated. Two, to me, it diminishes that you just won a great game against an outstanding basketball team. I have never understood it. I never have. Wherever I have been, when fans start doing that, I am like stop. Give us credit. Don’t demean what we just did. We just beat an outstanding basketball team. I have thought that my entire career. I have never enjoyed it when fans do that. Our guys work too hard and won a game against an outstanding team today.”

Credit where credit is due: Tennessee picked up a huge win over Auburn on Sunday, and thanks to Arkansas’ victory over Kentucky, the top of the SEC is looking closer than ever before. Auburn (25-4, 13-3) still leads the pack, but the next three programs all have the same conference record in Kentucky (23-6, 12-4), Arkansas (23-6, 12-4) and Tennessee (21-7, 12-4).

Tennessee has two regular-season games left before postseason play begins: a road contest at Georgia on Tuesday, followed by a home game against Arkansas on Saturday.