Kentucky, Tennessee and Rick Barnes
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Tennessee's Rick Barnes and Houston's Kelvin Sampson have known each other since the 1970s. They are coaching against each other in the Elite Eight.
As the Kentucky Wildcats gear up for their Sweet 16 showdown against the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday, Coach Mark Pope hasn't been shy about his admiration for Tennessee's head coach, Rick Barnes.
Tennessee got the all-important revenge it needed vs. Kentucky to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive to reach another Elite Eight.
As frustrating as the wait is for Tennessee, the drought is just as glaring for head coach Rick Barnes, who has just one Final Four appearance in nearly 40 years at various high-major programs. He last made a trip to the national semifinal with Texas in 2003.
Anytime they could, it felt like the Vols went out of their way to let the Cats know they were going to out-tough them on this night.