Tennessee faces its toughest challenge yet on home soil on Monday evening.

The no. 1 Vols needed a second half push to prevent Middle Tennessee State‘s surprise bid and victory 82-64 at Food City Center.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

After trailing by six at halftime, Tennessee (12-0) outscored the Blue Raiders (9-4) by 24 points in the second half and held them without a field goal in the final four minutes, keeping them undefeated during the SEC game is looming in the coming weeks.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Vols head coach Rick Barnes said about the performance.

“First of all, I knew we were ready to play because it was obvious (what MTSU was going to do). I just have a lot of respect for (MTSU coach) Nick (McDevitt). I think he is one of the most underrated coaches in college basketball, one of the best kept secrets. I’ve known him for a long time. I knew his team was coming – they had good size and played the ball well. I knew this would happen. I knew they had the ability to make a few threes. So our guys knew it and I thought we had a good week of preparation to get ready. At the start of the game they did what I expected. I think we were up eight, missed a couple layups that we needed to make, and then we shot it four or five times in a row. It changed the entire dynamic of the game in the first half.

“I thought at halftime we were locked in and we came out and obviously played a lot better. But I told them, “This won’t be the last time we’re behind at halftime.” “It’s good for us and let’s see if we can handle it.” I thought they did a good job when they came out and did this.”

“He plays point guard well. I told him I would rather have 19 (assists) and no turnovers. But he is so competitive. He’s just so competitive. He did a good job. We felt like we could get some of those over-the-top passes and that’s what he wants to do. And if they ever get mail carriers constantly running to the edge, they can do that. He will be ready for it. And when we put the shooters out there, it opens up the space. They made, I think, some great adjustments in the game where they were in the gaps, they were in the gaps and we went to a side-ball screen early. I have a few there, they actually turned Zakai around once where I thought he wanted to do a little too much with it. They jumped out there almost like a tough double team. Just like he disrupts everything, including defensively. But when he moves the ball like that, he starts to really understand his teammates. I think the more he’s out there, the more he and Chaz (Lanier) develop a little bit more of a connection to it. And he and Jordan (Gainey) have one.

“And when we go to that small lineup, (Jahmai Mashack) gives us a chance to play in so many different ways. But really happy with (Darlinstone Dubar) tonight. He didn’t come into the second half just because of the flow of the game, the matchups and everything we had to do. And I just know that Igor (Milicic) and Felix (Okpara) and Cade (Phillips) and (Dubar) are really going to be a big part of us in the future. And I tell them every day that they have to get better, but we all have to get better.”

“No. He just walked out.”

“No not really. I think (Carr) probably just didn’t understand the rule. I don’t know, but that’s what I would assume. We obviously expected him to be part of the team. Surprised.” To be honest, his teammates were very disappointed. There’s no reason to talk about it. I made that comment to our coaches.”

“(Carr) had to earn his way back (from injury). We talked to everyone about it this week because we wanted everyone to do it. But Bishop (Boswell) has made great strides. I mean, think about it. We would have had 10 people here and we figured we could use all 10 people. Bishop would have been great in this game tonight if he could have played. He’s made a lot of progress and I hate it for him, but he’ll come back stronger. His mental strength and competitive spirit will in turn serve him well. He is a loyal child. He wants to do it and he will come back strong. There’s no doubt Bishop will come back and be a big part of this.”

“It just starts with Nick and his staff. But I meant what I said. I’ve known Nick for a long time and know a lot about him. I know what he’s about. I think he’s just a great basketball coach. I think he has high standards. I think he knows how to build teams and squads. He did that well. I think he knows the type of people he wants and when he brings it together, he puts them in the best position to be successful. They’ve gotten better and better and a game like this will help him just like it helped us. They will see what they need to do to take the next step and we need to do the same.

“You learn something in every game. Impressed by his players. I thought they were ready. I thought they had some older guys, they were at games. I just have so much respect for him and the way he did things wherever he was.”

“We were up by eight and had a chance to extend the lead, missed layups and turned it over. Let (MTSU) get some momentum, let them feel comfortable. We missed a layup and they shot a three-pointer in transition. Such plays can reverse momentum very quickly. I didn’t think we ever lost our composure. I didn’t think so, but it was good for us. Honestly, do you want to come out and score 20 points in the first half? Probably from a stress perspective. But overall, if you look at it that way, it was probably a much better situation for us because they’re SEC size. They have guys that play the ball hard, guys that finish well, and we have to defend that all year long.

“Just great respect for the way they come in. Your game plan. I’m really proud of our boys. I thought the plays we had to make, we were going to make a little more plays on the sidelines defensively and rebound the ball. We got out and changed some. But it’s a hard-fought game and that’s what we expected.”

“I don’t know. We haven’t thought about it much. I’m sure we’ll talk about some things in the next few days. We’ve pretty much played eight or nine guys all year, right? I tell everyone : When I first started coaching, you asked questions, tried to learn as much as you could about the game and talked to some of the old legends. They always told me: “You want to play with six.” Maybe seven only if it has to be.’ To build this rotation. One of the greatest ever Bobby Cremins. He would do it every year. Lou CarneseccaGuys did it. Every year is different, but every guy we have right now we expect to play a big role.

“I’m really impressed with (Dubar) last week. He has really made great progress. We continue to try to train him in multiple positions, but defensively he really had a great week last week. We’re getting better and that’s what we want to do.”

“It’s like Jahmai Mashack And Zakai Zeigler said a year ago when we lost a few people. They said loud and clear: “If they don’t want to be here, then we don’t want them here.” We want people who want to be here and who really care about being part of the team. That’s what they said, and I think that’s what we all felt.”

“I just talked to him a little bit. He’s been working really hard on his rehab and we’re hoping that maybe (if he does) he comes back from Christmas. I know he will and will do whatever he needs to do while he is there to rehabilitate himself. He said he feels better, but like I said, we’re playing the long game with him. We know we’re going to need him and once we get into SEC play, it’s really up to him how comfortable he is.”