Revenge not a factor for Rick Barnes going into Kentucky-Tennessee rematch

The last time these two teams met in Knoxville just a few weeks ago, a ranked Tennessee team controlled the game for nearly 39 minutes against Kentucky.

The Volunteers led by as many as 17 points in the first half and were up by 11 at halftime. It wasn’t until there were 34 seconds left on the game clock that Kentucky took its first lead and never looked back. When the final buzzer sounded, emotions boiled over as the elated Wildcats talked smack to the frustrated Vols.

It was a full-on collapse by Rick Barnes‘ crew, but one that has since made this Tennessee team into a better group. The Volunteers have rattled off four straight wins since that loss, now playing arguably its best basketball of the season. Riding plenty of momentum, they’ll come to Lexington for tonight’s rematch, but Barnes is downplaying the revenge factor of it all.

“Everybody wants to talk about revenge game. It’s the next game. I don’t care,” Barnes said Friday. “I’ve never believed in that. I believe that, I don’t care who you’re getting ready to play, whether it’s Kentucky, whether it be Arkansas, whoever you want to throw up there, it’s the next game.”

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For some of his players, including star freshman Nate Ament, who is averaging close to 25 points per game during Tennessee’s winning streak, this will be their first time taking the floor at Rupp Arena. The atmosphere is expected to be one of the best of the season. A Saturday night tipoff broadcast on ESPN, not to mention the debut of Kentucky’s new denim uniforms, should create a rowdy group of 20,000-plus fans.

But just like he downplayed the revenge factor, Barnes also downplayed the Rupp Arena factor.

“Have you ever played at Auburn? You ever played at Arkansas? I mean, those places are the same,” Barnes, who is 4-6 as Tennessee head coach when playing UK at Rupp, said. “I mean, every place is a great arena. That’s what I think separates our league from everybody in the country. Wherever you go on the road in this league, you are gonna get a hostile environment, I think more than any league in the country.”

While there is some truth to what Barnes said, the hostile atmosphere in Rupp Arena will certainly be turned up a notch with one of Kentucky’s most-hated rivals on the other side.