Barnes wants Vols to remember loss

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee coach Rick Barnes wants his players to carry the memories of their most lopsided loss of the season for the rest of the year.

Barnes hopes those frustrating moments will help fuel the 18th-ranked Volunteers' attempt to bounce back from a 78-50 defeat at Alabama and continue their surprising drive toward the NCAA Tournament.

"Some people say you forget it and move on," Barnes said Monday. "I don't think you ever forget it. I think you remember it, because if you don't remember it, it's doomed to repeat itself."

Tennessee (18-6, 8-4 SEC) wants to avoid a repeat performance Tuesday when it hosts South Carolina (13-12, 4-8), which has lost its last five games.

The Vols' effort Saturday against Alabama was out of character for a team that had emerged as one of the nation's best stories this season. The loss caused Tennessee to drop three spots in The AP Top 25.

Picked to finish 13th out of 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference at the start of the season, Tennessee instead is tied for second place. The Vols have done that without having a single player who was rated as a top125 prospect, according to a composite ranking of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports.

Tennessee remains in good position.

On Sunday, the NCAA Division I Basketball Committee issued preliminary NCAA Tournament rankings, which indicated Tennessee would have earned a No. 4 seed if the tournament selections had been made that day. Tennessee hasn't been seeded that high in an actual NCAA Tournament since getting a No. 2 seed in 2008 and hasn't earned an NCAA bid at all since 2014. Tennessee's six remaining regular-season games don't include any opponents currently in the Top 25, giving the Vols an opportunity for a fast finish. But they're capable of losing any of those games if they play as poorly as they did against Alabama.

The Vols have outperformed preseason expectations by outworking and outhustling opponents. That didn't happen Saturday.