Some Tennessee basketball passes are so bad Rick Barnes is blaming gambling

Tennessee head basketball coach Rick Barnes has just one complaint following his team’s big win over Auburn on Saturday night. As much as he appreciated the Volunteers’ execution on both ends of the floor, he still cannot understand how they commit as many turnovers as they do.

Barnes admitted that Tennessee’s turnover issue keeps him up at night as he tries to figure out the reason behind it. After the win over Auburn, he admitted that the puzzling issue has him jokingly wondering if his players are gambling on the other teams.

“Some of the passes that we throw, I don’t know what to say other than sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games,” Barnes said, via Tennessee reporter Paige Dauer. “I shouldn’t say that — erase that. I just wonder what’s happening. Because I know we’re too good of players to do that.”

This was an all-timer by Rick Barnes

I asked him about the team’s heightened focus and it ends with him talking about certain questionable bad passes.

“Sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games.” pic.twitter.com/1Q5Au3008b

— Paige Dauer (@PaigeDauerFDP) February 1, 2026

Turnovers have been an issue for Tennessee all season. The Volunteers commit 13.1 giveaways per game, 296th in the country. They only force 11.8 takeaways per game in return, giving them a negative turnover ratio.

Barnes’ public complaint came after he watched Tennessee commit 15 turnovers in its win over Auburn. Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Bishop Boswell had the most with three apiece. Every player who played more than five minutes turned the ball over, with DeWayne Brown II and Amari Evans being the only ones to avoid committing multiple errors.

Tennessee’s defense was still enough to beat the upset-minded Tigers, who shot just 38 percent from the floor and 23 percent from deep. Auburn had just two players, Keyshawn Hall and Tahaad Pettiford, in double figures.

The Volunteers were once again led by freshman Nate Ament, who notched 22 points and eight rebounds to guide Tennessee to its third consecutive victory. Ament has now scored at least 17 points in his last six games.

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