Tennessee basketball fell two-spots to No. 8 in this week’s AP Poll after splitting top 25 matchups against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
The Vols opened their week with a 68-56 win over then-No. 14 Mississippi State before losing a 53-51 at No. 1 Auburn on Saturday night. Each game had a very different feel with Tennessee jumping out to an early lead and coasting past Mississippi State.
Against Auburn, neither team could create any significant separation with the Tennessee’s biggest lead being four points and Auburn’s being six points. Tennessee led by four points with 2:07 to play before Auburn finished the game on a 6-0 run to earn the victory.
The Vols are one of 10 SEC teams in this week’s AP Poll, coming in behind No. 1 Auburn, No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Florida while coming in ahead of No. 12 Kentucky, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 20 Missouri, No. 23 Ole Miss and No. 24 Vanderbilt.
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Tennessee basketball returns to Knoxville this week for two highly anticipated matchups. First, Tennessee hosts rival Kentucky on Tuesday night before Florida comes to town on Saturday for a top 10 showdown.
Kentucky comes to Knoxville having dropped its last two games, first at home against Alabama and then at Vanderbilt this past Saturday. Tennessee is looking to avenge its blowout loss at Florida earlier this month when they host the Gators on Saturday afternoon.
After a phenomenal defensive showing against Auburn, Tennessee has to keep its foot on the pedal on that end of the court this week. Kentucky enters the week ranked No. 5 in adjusted offensive efficiency while Florida ranks No. 2.
Coming off a game where its offense struggled, Tennessee has a chance to get some offensive momentum against a Kentucky team that’s struggled at times defensively this season.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Kentucky is at 7 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Tuesday night. ESPN is broadcasting the game.