After Tennessee fails to appear in the SEC Tournament, Rick Barnes expresses worry.

The SEC Tournament was not much of an experience for Tennessee basketball with their crushing defeat at the hands of Mississippi State. The Vols’ 73-56 defeat was both shocking and reminiscent of their season-opening setback to the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State exposed Tennessee’s vulnerabilities for the second time this season. It happens ahead of the NCAA Tournament this time. This Simpsons GIF perfectly captures the essence of the Vols’ stay in Nashville.

It seemed like the Vols had everything in front of them before the Kentucky game. The Vols had won three straight games against ranked opponents, and then the Vols dropped their Senior Day matchup against Kentucky and now drop the ball against Mississippi State.

Rick Barnes is a great coach but is infamously known for being exposed throughout March. He knows how it feels to have great teams end their season early because they couldn’t bring their best in March.

A lot of times, it comes down to which team wants to win more in March. The more desperate the team, the more physical the team, and the tougher team in any given game can take down the best teams in the country. Barnes’ Vols can only afford one more loss before their season is over, and that’s one thing Barnes focused on in the locker room post-game.

Let’s just sit here and think about how we feel right now, Barnes explained to them. “Let’s just sit here and speak about how you’re feeling right now. It’s over if you start feeling this way again. I want you to remember what you did right now. You want to give it your all during this time of year. You have to realize that this is the hardest time of year to win. There has to be a sense of desperation that every possession counts if your team is to be able to play for three days and win a conference tournament, or for six days and win a national title.”

Barnes also admitted that his Vols lacked the “want-to” that his squad requires to prevail in March. Despite having a wealth of seasoned players on the squad this year, none of the Tennessee basketball players know what it takes for everyone to succeed in March.

But it wasn’t the mindset we played with today. I haven’t seen that team in the first twenty minutes of the season, not even during practice. As I watch it, I think to myself, “Man, maybe we should get this out of our system.” It’s the first one like this that we haven’t responded better to,” Barnes said.