Tennessee basketball moved up one-spot to No. 5 in this week’s AP Poll after a dominant 2-0 week that earned them Andy Katz’ Team of the Week honors.
After a two-game road trip, Tennessee returned to Knoxville and earned a pair of dominant home wins. The Vols coasted past Florida, 85-66, and annihilated Alabama, 91-71, in a matchup billed as one of the top games of the week across the sport.
Dalton Knecht and Jonas Aidoo each had massive weeks for Tennessee on the offensive end as Knecht continues to emerge as a SEC Player of the Year candidate and Aidoo keeps proving he’s one of the SEC’s most improved players.
Knecht averaged 32 points and six rebounds over the two games while Aidoo averaged 19 points, 6.5 rebounds and three blocks in the lopsided wins.
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Tennessee basketball is one of three SEC teams in this week’s AP Poll coming in ahead of No. 6 Kentucky and No. 8 Auburn. Ole Miss, Florida and Alabama also received votes.
The Vols have their SEC open date in the middle of the week before returning to the court on Saturday where they’ll face Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Rick Barnes’ ninth team approaches the open date with a 14-4 (4-1 SEC) record and a game out of first place (Auburn) in the SEC standings. The Vols four losses came at No. 3 North Carolina and Mississippi State and on neutral sites against No. 2 Purdue and No. 7 Kansas.
Tennessee is looking to avenge last season’s buzzer beating loss at Vanderbilt last season. The Commodores are struggling this season and enter the week with a 5-13 (0-5 SEC) ranking. Tipoff between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium is at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday night. The SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
