Rick Barnes' ATS Record in NCAA Tournament is Extremely Concerning for Tennessee

Just two seasons ago, Saint Peter’s was one of the NCAA Tournament’s Cinderella stories when the Peacocks made a run to the Elite Eight. 

No. 15 Saint Peter’s is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since then as a heavy underdog against No. 2 Tennessee, whose head coach has been brutal to backers in March Madness.

If you’re looking to bet on any NCAA game tonight, FanDuel Sportsbook has an amazing promotional offer. New users who sign up with the link below and wager $5 will receive $150 in bonus bets if their first bet wins.

Sign up for FanDuel now!

Since 2005, Barnes is just 9-21 ATS in the NCAA Tournament. The sub-par ATS mark includes his last 11 seasons at Texas, which featured 10 NCAA Tournament trips. With the Longhorns, Barnes’ clubs lost to lower-seeded teams five times, but only twice in the first round as a No. 8 seed vs. 9. 

The majority of Barnes’ struggles have been during March shortcomings at Tennessee. In five NCAA Tournament trips, Tennessee’s never advanced past the Sweet 16 and have lost to a lower-seeded club each time. Tennessee was upset by No. 12 Oregon State in 2021 and had second-round defeats in 2018 to No. 11 Loyola Chicago and 2022 to No. 11 Michigan. 

This year’s Volunteers squad has aspirations to be the first team in program history to reach the Final Four, but Barnes’ track record doesn’t make many a believer. Tennessee lost out on the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after an early exit in the SEC Tournament, but are still a 21.5-point favorite over the Peacocks in the first round on Thursday. 

Tennessee is a top-5 favorite to win the NCAA Tournament at +1700 (FanDuel).

Don't miss out on all the NCAA Tournament coverage withBetSided's March Madness page

Game odds update periodically and are subject to change.