I've had quite a few thoughts since watching the Tennessee Vols' 62-55 loss to the Florida Atlantic Owls in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night. 

The first thought was something along the lines of "of course this is how the season ends for Tennessee…it's how the entire season has gone". 

That thought inevitably led to wondering how much criticism Rick Barnes deserves for UT's unsweet exit from the NCAA Tournament. 

There's obviously a lot of talk out there about Barnes after a disappointing end to the season. And that's more than fair. The head coach, after all, is the face of the program. It's up to Barnes to answer the tough questions. 

But I'm not sure Barnes deserves all the criticism that's being thrown his way in the wake of the loss to FAU. 

For just a moment, let's forget about Barnes' past. Let's forget about what he has or hasn't accomplished and let's just look at the 2022-23 season. 

The Vols faced a lot of adversity this season. Josiah-Jordan James, one of the Vols' most important players, was banged up all season, often putting his playing status in doubt. Tennessee also lost point guard Zakai Zeigler late in the season. Losing a starting point guard is something that would cripple most teams. 

Tennessee, however, battled through the adversity to earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And they proceeded to take down one of the hottest teams in the nation in the Duke Blue Devils. 

Unfortunately for the Vols, they ran into a bad matchup against FAU. And much like they did in other similar matchups (like Missouri), Tennessee came up short.

The adversity is something that James mentioned after the loss to FAU. 

"We know we wanted more, but there’s so much stuff that went on, injuries and people in and out of the lineup where a lot of people would just quit," said James on Thursday night. "But I give a lot of credit to my teammates and our coaching staff. Nobody in that locker room gave up on us, and I’m just so proud of my guys. Obviously, I’m disappointed, but I’m proud that we were able to come this far."

The Vols might not have reached the Elite 8 or the Final Four, but in a year where one of their top players was never at 100 percent and they lost the heart and soul of their team, Tennessee still reached the Sweet 16 and went deeper in the tourney than Purdue, Kansas, Arizona, Virginia, Kentucky, and Marquette. 

There are undoubtedly things that Tennessee has to do better under Barnes moving forward. Offensively, the Vols need to find a way to be more dynamic instead of settling for low-percentage jump shots. That's the biggest change that Barnes needs to make. 

Slamming Barnes for failing to advance past the Sweet 16 without his star point guard in a tournament where many of the top programs failed to advance past the first weekend feels a bit unfair. 

It's understandable to be disappointed in the loss, but no one should be down on Tennessee basketball because of a loss in the Sweet 16. The Vols will be back. And they'll hope to have better injury luck next time around. 

While we don't know how far Barnes will take the Vols, one thing that everyone knows is that he'll have Tennessee in a position to make some noise on an annual basis. And that's something that can be hard to find in college sports.