Tennessee basketball fell seven spots to No. 17 in this week’s AP Poll after an 0-1 week that saw the Vols drop their third straight game.
Then-No. 17 North Carolina blitzed Tennessee with a 61-point first half in Chapel Hill and despite a strong second half effort the Vols fell to the Tar Heels 100-92. The Wednesday night matchup was Tennessee’s only game last week after playing three games in three days the prior week at the Maui Invitational.
Tennessee is one of three SEC teams in this week’s AP Poll joining No. 16 Kentucky and No. 21 Texas A&M. It was a bad week for SEC basketball.
Alabama fell at home to Clemson and Texas A&M fell at Virginia in the ACC/SEC Challenge. After dominating then-No. 8 Miami, Kentucky suffered an embarrassing home loss against UNC-Wilmington on Saturday. Mississippi State entered the week undefeated before losing against Georgia Tech and Southern. Auburn entered the week just outside the top 25 and lost at Appalachian State after defeating Virginia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Announces Three Sell Outs
Tennessee returns to the court twice this week for two matchups at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The Vols host a strong George Mason squad on Tuesday night before hosting No. 20 Illinois in a marquee early season matchup.
Rick Barnes’ ninth Tennessee team is looking to bounce back from its three straight losses away from home by earning two strong home wins.
After playing a daunting November schedule, Tennessee’s December schedule slows down and includes just two big six foes— Illinois and North Carolina State. The lack of remaining marquee non conference games emphasizes the importance of Saturday’s matchup against Illinois.
Tipoff between Tennessee and George Mason Tuesday night is at 6:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. Tipoff between Tennessee and Illinois Saturday is at noon ET on CBS.
