Tennessee basketball moved up two-spots to No. 6 in the Dec. 25 AP Poll. It’s the highest the Vols have ranked all season in the AP Poll.
Rick Barnes’ ninth Tennessee team is riding a five-game winning streak and is coming off a 1-0 week that saw them knock off Tarleton State 65-46 at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
The Vols are the highest ranked of three SEC teams in this week’s poll, coming in ahead of No. 8 Kentucky and No. 23 Ole Miss. Auburn is the first team out of the poll while Texas A&M, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi State also received votes.
Tennessee is in the midst of a 12-day Christmas break that Rick Barnes called the “longest” of his coaching career. The Vols defeated Tarleton State on Dec. 21 and don’t play again until they host Norfolk State on Jan. 2.
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Tennessee’s matchup against Norfolk State is its final non conference matchup of the regular season before opening up conference play at home on Jan. 6 against currently unbeaten Ole Miss.
If the Vols take care of business against Norfolk State, they’ll enter conference play 10-3 with their losses coming against No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Kansas and No. 9 North Carolina. Tennessee boasts wins against No. 11 Illinois and No. 23 Wisconsin.
The league’s media picked Tennessee to win the SEC this preseason. With just under two weeks away from their conference opener, the Vols are the highest ranked SEC team in the AP Poll.
