Tennessee basketball used a huge second half to defeat MTSU 82-64 on Monday night in Knoxville. The Vols trailed by six points at halftime before taking control of the game with elite defense in the second half and extending their lead late.

Following the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes discussed responding to early adversity, Cam Carr’s departure from the team and more. Here’s everything Barnes said.

More from RTI: Three quick takeaways as Tennessee uses big second half to beat MTSU, remains undefeated

About what he learned about this Tennessee team in the second half

“Well, first of all, I knew we were ready to play because it was obvious. I mean, I just have a lot of respect for 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 drove 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. Changed the whole dynamic of the game in the first half. But at halftime we thought we were locked in and we came out and obviously played a lot better. But I told them, I said this won’t be the last time we’re behind at half time. Good for us, let’s see if we can handle it. I thought they did a good job coming out and doing that.”

On Zakai Zeigler’s career-high 15 assists and how well he plays as a point guard

“Well, he is. 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 exaggerations. 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 some great adjustments in the game, I think, 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 develop some connection to it. And he and Jordan have one. And when we go to that small lineup, Shack (Jahmai Mashack) gives us the chance to play in so many different ways. But really happy with D-Stone (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 D-Stone 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.”

On what influenced Cam Carr’s decision to transfer

“I have no idea.”

If they had any discussions about it

“NO. He just walked out.”

If there are any advantages to leaving in the middle of the season

“NO. Not really. I think they probably didn’t understand the rule. I don’t know, but I would assume so. We obviously expected him to be part of the team. Surprised his teammates. They were very disappointed. So from now on there’s nothing to really talk about. He’s made his decision. It’s confusing to be honest.”

I hope to have Carr back in the rotation after the injury, wherever they go from here

“He had to earn his way back. We talked to everyone about it this week because we wanted everyone to do it. But Bishop 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 is someone who, like 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 it, 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.”

About what makes MTSU a dangerous team

“Firstly, 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 what kind of people he wants. And when he gets it together, he puts them in the best position to succeed. 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 people. They were in games. And I just have so much respect for him and the way he did things wherever he was.”

On his message to the team at halftime

“What I just said before. We were ahead by 8. We had a chance to extend the lead, missed layups and turned it over. Let them get going. Let her get 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 get 20, 25 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 who push the ball hard. Guys that finish well and we have to defend that all year long. Just a lot of respect for the way they come from. 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.”

If they were to consider bringing in a signee early to gain more depth

“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? Pretty much. I tell everyone, when I first started coaching you would ask questions and try to learn as much as you could about this game and talking to some of the old legends they would always tell me, “You want to play six.” Maybe seven. Eight only if necessary.’ To build that rotation, one of the biggest guys in that would be Lou Carnesecca every year, every year is different, but we expect whoever we have right now to play a big role. I’m really impressed with DStone over the last week. He’s really made a lot of progress. We’re still trying to train him in multiple positions, but defensively he had a really great week. We’re getting better and we want to do that. “

About having to worry about squad moves during the season

“It’s like Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler said a year ago when we lost some 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.”

When he awaits Boswell’s return

“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.”