Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes said the quiet part out loud, justifying the mistakes his players made by questioning if they were betting on their performances.
“Sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games,” Barnes quipped after Tennessee took down Auburn in SEC play on Saturday, 77-69.
Key Takeaways
- Barnes quickly apologized and said he shouldn’t have made the comment.
- Tennessee covered the 5.5-point spread with its win.
- NCAA president has fought to restrict the types of bets that are available for sanctioned events.
The Volunteers were up by nine points entering the final minutes of Saturday’s in-conference clash. Their lead was threatened by a pair of bad pass turnovers, one by junior Jaylen Carey and another by sophomore Bishop Boswell, both of which led to immediate scores for the Tigers.
Those five points didn’t amount to much in the end, as Tennessee won and covered the five-point spread. However, Barnes’ frustration revealed itself in a manner he quickly regretted.
“At the end of the game, some of the passes we throw, I don’t know what to say other than sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games,” Barnes said. “I shouldn’t say that, erase that. I’m just wondering what’s happening, because we’re too good of players to do that.”
This was an all-timer by Rick Barnes 😂
— Paige Dauer (@PaigeDauerFDP) February 1, 2026
I asked him about the team’s heightened focus and it ends with him talking about certain questionable bad passes.
“Sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games.” pic.twitter.com/1Q5Au3008b
It didn’t take long for Barnes to realize the magnitude of what he said.
“Was that bad?” he questioned while looking to the side of where he was seated in front of the media. “I apologize. I shouldn't have said that. But that fact is, we’ve gotta get smarter.”
While Barnes’ comments may have been tongue-in-cheek, they are further evidence of the prevalence of betting scandals in college sports.
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College basketball caught in the crossfire
Sixteen active and former college basketball players, two trainers, and two “high-stakes” bettors were indicted on charges related to match-fixing in college basketball in mid-January. Players who participated in the scheme allegedly received $10,000-$30,000 per game they fixed.
The indictments were part of an investigation that found 39 student-athletes from 17 schools guilty of wrongdoing. The scheme began in the Chinese Basketball Association in 2022 and eventually reached college basketball in February 2025.
The piling transgressions confirm the fears of NCAA president Charlie Baker.
After taking the position in March 2023, Baker fervently campaigned for state gaming regulators to remove college player prop lines from sportsbooks to preserve the integrity of college sports.
He also insisted in January that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission restrict event contracts offered by prediction platforms for NCAA events, stating “the answer cannot be the status quo.”
In October, the NCAA approved a policy that would’ve allowed student-athletes and team personnel to legally bet on sports that weren’t sanctioned by the NCAA. However, two-thirds of Division I member schools voted to walk back the rule in November.
Sports can’t escape betting scandals
College basketball is also far from the only sport dealing with sports betting scandals.
MLB pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz are in the middle of legal battles after they were accused of fixing the outcomes of their pitches so that bettors could profit from their results.
Over in the NBA, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested for allegedly limiting his availability in a March 2023 game, while former Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley is under investigation. Federal officials also said they are looking into more unknown teams and games.
