Rick Barnes makes wild betting comment after college basketball win

by February 2, 2026

written by February 2, 2026

College basketball has had a growing problem with sports betting in recent years, and Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes awkwardly addressed the situation over the weekend.

The Volunteers beat Auburn in a critical SEC matchup Saturday, but following the game Barnes confused media in his postgame press conference with a comment.

Despite winning the game, Barnes brought up Tennessee’s bad passes throughout the win. This prompted him to make a wild joke that some college basketball fans think might be serious.

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"Sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games" 😂

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes on his team's bad passes Saturday vs. Auburn.

(via @PaigeDauerFDP)pic.twitter.com/0my9MQFp5G

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 1, 2026

“Sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games,” Barnes joked after stepping up to the microphone.

While Rick Barnes’ comment was certainly out of pocket, the NCAA is going through a situation that recently developed where many schools were affected by betting. Back in November, over 30 players were investigated by the NCAA.

This came after the NBA had its own issues with Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups and others as part of various sports betting and illegal poker games.

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Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes talks to this players against the Georgia Bulldogs. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Tennessee isn’t currently ranked as March Madness approaches, but Barnes is certainly keeping the team in the spotlight with some of his recent remarks.