Rick Barnes recaps Tennessee’s win against Florida

Tennessee defeated Florida, 78-66, in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Q. Assuming you don’t have John tomorrow, is that a situation where you expect to play a lot of Yves at the five, probably see more of Olivier?
RICK BARNES: I haven’t thought about it. But probably. Again, this time of year you got to do what you got to do. Again, I thought Uros was terrific. I like to think if we go to Olivier or E.J., those guys will be ready to roll. Whatever we’re going to have to do, this time of year, one game at a time. You try to win and move on.

THE MODERATOR: Coach meant to say Jordan Bowden.

Q. What did you think about your team’s response after the situation with Fulkerson? It was clear with body language that they weren’t going to be intimidated or back down.

RICK BARNES: They were upset. They were. They were very upset. What we tried to talk about was the emotion of it. I think the technical foul called on Josiah was nothing other than, We’re not going to let this thing get out of control. I don’t think it was that big a deal. Everything can escalate, become a big deal. The fact that the officials were going to tell them, if they’ve told them to shut up and quit talking, they keep doing it, whether it’s a very little thing as just saying, Hey, he threw the ball at my teammate. Don’t throw the ball at my teammate. Referees have a hard enough job. When it gets chippy, players are getting after it, the emotion starts to heat up, it’s a tough game to officiate regardless of that. Our guys have such great respect and love for Fulky, but for each other. We had to calm them down, no doubt about it, because they felt like it was unnecessary. I was glad we were able to get back at it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, everybody.

Get ready for March Madness by registering in advance for USA TODAY Sports’ bracket sweepstakes. In the meantime, mobile users can play USA TODAY Sports’ Couchketball virtual hoops challenge – the interactive basketball game where your skills determine the outcome.

[listicle id=37636]