Doubting Rick Barnes? Tennessee basketball's win vs Duke in March Madness was a silencer

ORLANDO, Fla. — Rick Barnes paced along the baseline with the lights low at Amway Center.

The Tennessee basketball team huddled in front of the bench waiting for player introductions before the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Barnes just walked, hands behind his back. Then he crossed his arms and walked back. He knew his team was ready. He was, too.

“He looked calm,” guard Jahmai Mashack said of Barnes in the prior two days. “He looked motivated. He looked extremely motivated. He wanted it — he did.”

Barnes and the No. 4 Vols (25-10) got it — a 62-52 win against No. 5 Duke (27-9), a Sweet 16 berth, and a silencer sent directly to anyone doubting Barnes.

“If you have doubts on Coach Barnes, that is on you,” forward Olivier Nkamhoua said. “He has been doing this a long time.”

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Nkamhoua’s statement rang true after Saturday as Barnes put on a coaching masterclass with a shorthanded and limping Vols team against a roaring, talented Duke team. Tennessee delivered a whooping to the Blue Devils, punishing them for being on the same court. It was all-out aggression, all the time from a team that was 6-7 since the start of February prior to Saturday.

The Vols repeatedly stated they wanted to take Duke “to the mud” and “make them play our brand of basketball.” It was a masterpiece of brutality and it was Barnes’ dream put into action in a season-defining moment — and a Barnes-defining moment at Tennessee.

Win and advance to a second Sweet 16 in five NCAA Tournament appearances. Lose and hear the same old refrain about Barnes in March.

“It feels some type of way when people are disrespecting your head coach and the leader you are looking up to,” guard Josiah-Jordan James said. “We are glad to get the job done for him.”

Barnes’ NCAA Tournament track record is plenty discussed. He has been a head coach for 36 seasons with 26 prior tournament appearances. He has reached one Final Four. This Tennessee team was labeled as a likely second weekend team before the season and looked like a Final Four squad for three months. It cratered in February and March, battling injuries and losing star guard Zakai Zeigler to a season-ending ACL injury.

That’s when associate head coach Justin Gainey said Barnes became unbelievable and fabulous. Barnes homed in on what Tennessee had and not what it didn’t. He saw pride and belief in his players. They saw an energy and an edge in him, especially in the five days in Orlando to seal the Sweet 16 bid and a matchup with No. 9 Florida Atlantic on Thursday.

Barnes, now in his eighth season at Tennessee, showed his players film from their elite performances, ranging from an exhibition against Gonzaga to a November win against Kansas. He wanted to remind his players they can play at a high level.

They believed him because they know their coach and give little credence to Barnes criticism — except in aiming to eliminate it.

“He deals with so much as a coach,” Mashack said. “He gets so much criticism. It is actually unbelievable how much criticism he gets. He puts so much time into us, into himself and into this program. It is unbelievable to see as a player."

That’s why his players don’t understand any disrespect aimed at Barnes. The struggles of this team for large stretches this season can’t be ignored. Tennessee has been an offensive disaster, at times. But it also has been at its finest in marquee matchups four times this season.

Maybe that’s the difference with this Barnes-led team. Maybe it is made for the biggest moments. Maybe it needs to be in New York's Madison Square Garden, where Tennessee will play for the program’s second Elite Eight and potentially the program’s first Final Four.

“We have all the pieces we need,” guard Tyreke Key said.

That starts with the man in charge.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rick Barnes: Tennessee basketball win vs Duke silenced coach's critics