Tennessee basketball dropped five spots to No. 17 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 rankings after a 1-1 week saw them beat Arkansas and fall to Auburn. It’s the fifth straight week Tennessee has dropped in the AP Poll.
The Vols end the regular season 22-9 (11-7 SEC) after a disappointing back half of conference play saw them post a 4-6 record. Tennessee heads to Nashville for the SEC Tournament this week as the tournament’s No. 5 seed, failing to receive the double-bye for the first time since the 2019 SEC Tournament.
Tennessee is one of four SEC teams ranked in this week’s poll, joining No. 4 Alabama, No. 18 Texas A&M and No. 23 Kentucky.
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The Vols are looking to find their footing this week as they adjust to life after Zakai Zeigler. Zeigler tore his ACL against Arkansas, sidelining the Vols’ top point guard.
Tennessee will face the winner of Ole Miss-South Carolina at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday. If the Vols get past the Rebels or Gamecocks they’ll get a rematch with Missouri at the same time Friday.
The Tigers beat Tennessee on a near half court shot last month after the Vols erased a 17-point Missouri second half lead.
If Tennessee makes it back to the SEC Tournament Semifinals, which would mark its fifth straight trip, they would likely face top-seed Alabama.
RockyTopInsider will have live coverage from Tennessee’s trip to the SEC Tournament all week.
