New No. 1? Tennessee fans excited about potential for top spot after No. 2 Michigan loses
The Tennessee Volunteers are playing the Alabama Crimson Tide at home right now, but there’s more on the line than just a 5-0 start in SEC play for the Vols.
Rick Barnes currently has his team at No. 3 in the AP Poll, but fans watched on Monday as No. 1 Duke lost to an unranked Syracuse team. Then, on Saturday afternoon, No. 2 Michigan fell on the road against an unranked Wisconsin squad.
Therefore, it stands to reason that if the Vols beat Alabama, they’ll be in a great position to land the No. 1 spot in next week’s AP Poll. It’s also safe to say that fans are excited by that prospect.
As you can see below, they flocked to Twitter to support their squad ahead of tipoff in Knoxville:
There is a number one ranking waiting on the other side of this Alabama game if the Vols can win. Let’s do this thing.
— Britton Robinson (@BrittonCaleb93) January 19, 2019
Michigan lost today. #1 ranking is just sitting there, wanting to be taken. Go Vols! Beat Bama! #vols #beatbama
— Matt Wiseman (@mattwiseboy) January 19, 2019
Michigan lost
Georgia lost @ home
Duke is going to lose
The Vols are gonna beat the hell outta BammerIt’s a great day to be a TN basketball fan
— anna (@annae_worleyy) January 19, 2019
✔️ Duke loses
✔️ Michigan loses
Vols winLet’s get it done.
— Cole McCormick (@Cole_McCormick) January 19, 2019
Michigan lost today. Vols better move up in the rankings
— Randy (@Lemmeholsum) January 19, 2019
Vols beat Bama and they’re #1 in the nation! pic.twitter.com/cW7hmZXE9V
— Sean Reed (@Sean__Reed) January 19, 2019
The number 1 and 2 teams have now lost this week. If the Vols can win today, they could very well end up in the number one spot. However, keep an eye on Virginia. If they win today, they will have beaten 2 top 10 teams in less than a week. They could potentially jump UT.
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyersTV) January 19, 2019
Of course, if undefeated No. 4 Virginia beats still-No. 1 Duke in Durham on Saturday night, the Cavaliers could jump the Vols for the No. 1 spot. There will be a lot of intrigue this week, and it’ll be fun to see what happens.