Come Friday night, the Tennessee Vols are going to take on the Kentucky Wildcats and a trip to the Elite Eight is on the line. Yup, drama doesn’t even begin to describe this one. Kentucky is a perfect 2-0 against the Vols this campaign, but Rick Barnes is looking to change things.
What Barnes has been able to do with this program has been nothing short of fantastic. The university values what he has gotten done, which has further been proved thanks to the handsome new bonus he’ll be getting. According to Front Row Sports, Barnes is taking home $200,000 for powering UT to the Sweet Sixteen. This is the highest bonus of any college coach out there.
Biggest bonuses for leading teams to the Sweet 16:
Maryland’s Kevin Willard, Rick Barnes will receive a $200,000 bonus for leading Tennessee to the Sweet Sixteen
Per FOS, Kelvin Sampson is getting $100,000, while Kevin Willard and Tom Izzo are taking home $75,000. Barnes is far and away getting the most dough. While it’s a nice chunk of change for him, he’s got his eyes on a bigger prize.
That prize is of course getting Tennessee to the Final Four for the first time in program history. Should the Vols come out on top on Friday, a potential date with No. 1 seed Houston would then be on the way next week. That’d be a massive showdown.
First, though, the Wildcats are hoping to improve to 3-0 against UT this year. Standout Lamont Butler has already guaranteed a win for Kentucky, which no question is going to serve as extra motivation for Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler and the rest of the seniors.
Is it written in the stars for Tennessee to post one of the biggest wins in program history in the coming days? That’s what fans are hoping for, but Kentucky is going to be ready to prevent that from happening. It’ll be on Barnes and his players to extend the season.
