Tennessee Basketball HC Rick Barnes Speaks Following Double-Overtime Win Against Texas A&M

Tennessee defeats Texas A&M on the hardwood in overtime thriller.

Jan 13, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

The No. 24 ranked Tennessee Volunteers are now 12-5 (2-2) following a thrilling 87-82 double-overtime win at home against the visiting in-conference opponent, Texas A&M.

Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center now has another instant classic basketball game to add to the long-list of memories.

Head coach Rick Barnes spoke to the media following the intense 87-82 double-overtime win to hand the aggies of Texas A&M a loss.

What Barnes Saw from the Team Down the Stretch

Jan 13, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

"You know, uh, (I'm) really proud of them. Uh, we spent a lot of time in the prep, obviously with their style of play. Playing against a lot more players on the court. I was honestly disappointed early that when guys were open, they weren't making the pass, and the guys didn't do exactly what we had practiced.

But, got to give A&M credit (credit) and you know Bucky's (Bucky McMillian) done a really good job of his style and what he plays and how he does it. I thought as the game kept going, uh, we kept getting better, especially in the second half. Played more with Nate at the four than we have all year. I thought our defense, uh, we made adjustment and a couple times out of that adjustment, and I think just simply out of habits. We knew we were going to really work hard at taking away the three and we had a couple of guys that still rotated in and gave up those quick threes, but really proud of the guys. Just their grit, you know, is really, is really neat in the huddle with them. Uh, they stayed together. They kept finding, just finding a way, you know, it's not going to be prettiest game. I mean we haven't played against a style like that all year, but we found a way. I thought a lot of good things, I thought Nates two games in a row is really, now he's started off and we set him down and I thought while he was there, something happened, because he started seeing the game totally different when he came on the court. I mean his ball handling was certainly a big key in the second half and then we went back big in the second overtime. Jaylen came up with some big plays. I thought Felix was excellent. Bishop after the game he had Saturday, I thought he came back and made some really big plays, rebounding the ball but everybody tonight that played made a difference in the game and Troy got his most significant minutes and I thought that you know, his three was a huge three and plays with a kind of confidence that we like, but just a good overall win against a really well coached tough opponent. All I can say is our (guys), they found a way to do it. Our guys found a way to do it," explained Barnes.

Click HERE to watch and listen to everything that Rick Barnes said following the win over Texas A&M.

The Vols will now look ahead to their rivalry game coming this Saturday as Tennessee welcomes Kentucky to Rocky Top.

Tip-off is set for 12:00pm EST and will be televised on ESPN.

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