Tennessee basketball fell one-spot from No. 4 to No. 5 in this week’s AP Poll after its 1-1 week to close the regular season.
It was an up-and-down week for Tennessee. The Vols went on the road and knocked off then-No. 17 South Carolina to clinch the outright SEC Regular Season Championship on Wednesday night before falling at home to rival Kentucky on Senior Day.
Despite the disappointing loss to conclude the regular season, Tennessee remains the highest ranked SEC team in this week’s AP Poll coming in ahead of No. 9 Kentucky, No. 12 Auburn, No. 15 South Carolina and No. 19 Alabama. Florida also received a vote.
But more important than the AP Poll, Tennessee enters conference tournament week as the final one-seed in the NCAA Tournament according to both ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBS’ Jerry Palm.
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With Arizona losing to USC in its regular season finale and North Carolina winning at Duke, the Tar Heels now appear to be the Vols’ toughest competition for the final one-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee now turns its attention to the SEC Tournament in Nashville where they’ll look to defend its regular season title with a tournament title. The Vols open up play in Nashville at 1 p.m. ET on Friday against the winner of the Mississippi State and LSU game.
If the Vols get past the Bulldogs or Tigers, they’ll likely face either Auburn or South Carolina in the SEC Tournament Semifinals on Saturday. Kentucky, Alabama and Florida are the highest seeded teams on the other side of the bracket.
Tennessee concludes the regular season 24-7 (14-4 SEC) and enters conference tournament week with a very real chance to earn its first ever one-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
