CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rumor has it Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes once worked at Texas.
As soon as the Volunteers completed Thursday night's 83-49 dismantling of Saint Peter's in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, they had to field questions concerning Saturday's round of 32 pairing with the Longhorns. Barnes won his 200th game with Tennessee at the expense of the Peacocks, but the fact he's the winningest coach in Texas history and led the Longhorns to 16 NCAA tournament trips in 17 seasons became the instant point of discussion.
"I've been gone nine years, and I'm a Tennessee Volunteer," Barnes said. "The time I had there was special, and there are really a lot of people there that touched my life, but I thank the good Lord for — coming to Tennessee was a blessing.
"Maybe I didn't know it at the time, but I couldn't have asked for a better way to be in a position where my career will end."
The showdown inside the Spectrum Center between Midwest Region No. 2 seed Tennessee (25-8) and No. 7 seed Texas (21-12) is scheduled for 8 p.m. on CBS, so it's as prime time as it gets.
This Barnes versus Texas storyline is anything but new, as it's the third consecutive season these programs have collided. They faced off in the now defunct Big 12/SEC Challenge, with Texas winning 52-51 in Austin in 2022 and Tennessee prevailing 82-71 last year in Knoxville.
These teams will continue to vie annually for decades to come, with the Longhorns and longtime Big 12 counterpart Oklahoma set to join the Southeastern Conference on July 1.
"They know us and we know them very well," Vols fifth-year senior forward Josiah-Jordan James said. "A lot of their guys worked for Coach Barnes, but we're not going to make it more than it is. It's a game against a team that's in our way. They're a really talented team that beat a really talented Colorado State team.
"Obviously you want to show who the better UT is, but we can't make it more than it is."
Texas built a 17-point lead two years ago before the Vols pulled within 52-51 and had the chance to prevail when James missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer. James was one of four Tennessee players who scored in double figures during last year's encounter, when the Vols built a 22-point lead in the second half and cruised to victory.
The all-time series between the two is deadlocked at 4-4, and this represents their first postseason meeting.
"I think in each of those matchups, the person who started the fight was able to finish it and win at the end," James said. "We'll have to take the fight to them like we did to Saint Peter's. They're going to know what to expect from us, but it doesn't really come down to X's and O's.
"It's just about being the tougher team this time of the year."
Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry was a Texas assistant under Barnes, as were two of Terry's most prominent staff members, Chris Ogden and Frank Haith. When Barnes first got to Knoxville for the 2015-16 season, Ogden was on that staff.
"I have great respect for Rodney and Frank Haith and Chris Ogden," Barnes said. "Those are guys who I know are going to be very well prepared. It's never easy, but those guys probably know me as well as anybody, and they know how I think. I think if you asked both of us, we would rather be playing someone else."
Said Terry: "I would completely agree with that. Coach is family to me. He's one of my biggest mentors. He's been incredible throughout my career. We love each other."
Perhaps the Barnes versus Texas theme will have run its course next season. It sure hasn't now, and there is a Sweet 16 berth at stake this time around.
"Going into my first SEC/Big 12 matchup with them, I was expecting Coach Barnes to have a little bit of something else to him, but he didn't," James said. "It was just another game that he wanted to win. Honestly, I feel like every game you would think is the national championship game with the way he prepares and is on edge. I would say there isn't a change in him, no matter the opponent.
"I think all the juice for us is being in the round of 32. We set a goal to make it to the national championship, and you can't get to the national championship without winning the next 40 minutes."
Odds and ends
Tennessee has assembled eight 25-win seasons in its history, with five coming in the last seven seasons under Barnes. ... The Vols are 26-26 in NCAA tournament games. ... Tennessee's 46-20 halftime lead against the Peacocks was its largest ever in an NCAA tournament game. ... Dalton Knecht's 699 points this season are the most by a Tennessee player since Allan Houston had 717 in the 1991-92 season. ... Barnes on junior point guard Zakai Zeigler: "His DNA has impacted our program more than any player since we've been at Tennessee, maybe more than anybody I've coached."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.