Vols boost confidence with win at Florida

If Tennessee played the way it did against Florida, one of the top teams in the country, every game, there'd be no question about its postseason plans. The Volunteers would be a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Alas, the Volunteers have been up and down throughout Cuonzo Martin's first year as head coach, standing 13-12 with six games to play before the SEC Tournament. Not even running the table would guarantee a spot in the Big Dance. Confidence, though, was high heading into that stretch. Beating a team like Florida on its home court, 75-70, never gets old, even when it was the second time Tennessee had defeated the Gators this season. "Our confidence and swagger is at an all-time high," center Kenny Hall said. "We're going to enjoy this victory and then focus on our next opponent." The Volunteers' next six opponents, presumably, present an easier challenge than the previous part of a front-loaded schedule. Only its regular-season ending home game against Vanderbilt comes against a team that currently sits ahead of Tennessee in the SEC standings. Martin, 25 games into his first season with the Volunteers, sees a team that has finally come together and is prepared for such a crucial couple of weeks. "The walk-throughs, the mentality, and I think we've gotten better as a team in SEC play," Martin said. "We made the strides at home to get better as a team." NOTES, QUOTES --Tennessee hadn't won a game away from home against a Division I foe since March 2011 before it toppled Florida, 75-70, on Saturday in Gainesville. Something always seemed amiss for the Volunteers when they stepped out of the cozy confines of Thompson-Boling Arena before Saturday's triumph. Coach Cuonzo Martin said he noticed a difference in the Volunteers during the morning shootaround Saturday and didn't seem surprised by the upset result. "I felt like it was the first time we were able to win a road game," Martin said. "We had the necessary pieces and the necessary mindset to win the game. Before, we weren't mentally ready. I let our guys know we could win our road games." --G Skylar McBee could be in the starting lineup for good after the way he's performed in the past three games. The 3-point specialist has averaged 13.7 points per game and has been tough on defense during the three-game stretch. The Volunteers have won all three games. Coach Cuonzo Martin said he doesn't like to change his starting lineup often, so there's no reason to believe he'll tinker with it to move McBee back to the bench. --PF Jarnell Stokes returned to the court Saturday after missing action Wednesday against South Carolina because of a sprained wrist. Stokes played 11 minutes and scored four points in Tennessee's win against Florida. Stokes, a freshman, injured the wrist during practice. QUOTE TO NOTE "It has really given us a good boost, especially the way we were practicing and preparing the whole week to play against a top-ranked SEC opponent." -- F Jeronne Maymon after Tennessee's 75-70 victory over Florida. THIS WEEK'S GAMES --vs. Arkansas, Feb. 15 Arkansas G B.J. Young is coming in to Wednesday's game against Tennessee red hot. He scored 16 in a loss last week at Georgia and followed with 27 points in a win Saturday against South Carolina. The 27-point effort was the most he's scored in nearly two months. A number of Volunteers could draw the assignment of containing Young. Skylar McBee, Trae Golden and Josh Richardson are all candidates. --at Alabama, Feb. 18 Scouting the Crimson Tide just got a lot more difficult for the Volunteers. Alabama's top three scorers and another key contributor -- F Tony Mitchell, F JaMychal Green, G Trevor Releford and G Andrew Steele -- were all indefinitely suspended for violation of team rules as of Saturday. Freshman G Rodney Cooper, the Volunteers hope, could be the toughest guy to guard on the floor. Cooper scored a career-high 28 points in Alabama's loss Saturday at LSU. FUTURES MARKET Freshman PG Wes Washpun saw less than a minute of action in Saturday's win at Florida, and in that span of time he was able to pick up a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. It was a fitting moment for a year that has seen him on the floor less and less even though the Volunteers don't have a reliable option behind starting PG Trae Golden. Washpun, blessed with a massive vertical leap, has struggled with turnovers and hasn't been reliable enough to merit much playing time against top opponents. The upcoming offseason will be important for Washpun because the Volunteers are likely to still be short on point guards. PLAYERS NOTES --When he's at his best, Trae Golden is not only scoring points, but he's helping others do the same. He did just that against Florida on Saturday, netting 17 points and dishing out seven assists. The seven assists matched his most in an SEC game. --F Jordan McRae has seen his playing time pick up lately, and he's made the most of it. He averaged less than six points per game in conference play, but was averaging nine points per game in his previous five, entering the week.