Fanpulse: Confidence soars after season sweep of Vanderbilt

There’s nothing like a good old fashioned season sweep of an in-state rival.

The Tennessee Volunteers split last week’s matchups against its SEC counterparts. The Vols lost a tough one on the road to the South Carolina Gamecocks, but it was the second win of the 2019 season against the Commodores that apparently has fans feeling good about the direction of the program.

Tennessee’s tourney hopes are still slim, but the SEC is still pretty much wide-open, even if Kentucky is starting to begin its usual late-season push.

Confidence is currently at 93% - which is 11% more than last week’s count of 82%.

How about that math?

There’s still some time left for a push, but this team needs to get it together - and quick. Rick Barnes described his squad’s first-half effort against Vandy as “pathetic” and said after the game that his players “disrespected the game of basketball” with their late-game miscues.

Auburn is up next, so yea, they better get things turned around fast.

Mid-Major Makin’ Noise

SB Nation also asked the people who they thought the player of the year is and Obi Toppin of Dayton beat out Luka Garza (Iowa) and Udoka Azubuike (Kansas) for the top spot.

The 6-foot-9 forward averages 19.4 points per game and is one of the more all-around offensive players in the game. He’s very effective in the post, but also has a soft touch that allows him to make outside shots. His defense needs a bit of work, but the kid is super-coachable.