Tennessee basketball fell one-spot to No. 6 in the Feb. 17 Associated Press Poll following a 1-1 week where the Vols lost at Kentucky and defeated Vanderbilt at home.
Kentucky completed the weekend sweep of Tennessee basketball on Tuesday night. The game was neck-and-neck at the under four timeout before the Wildcats took control of the game and earned a 75-64 victory. Tennessee was down as many as 16 points against Vanderbilt in the first half on Saturday before using a furious second half comeback to knock off the Commodores 81-76.
After failing to score in the first half, Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler scored 22 points and dished out four assists in the second half including a handful of key plays in the final minutes of the game.
The Vols are one of 10 SEC teams in this week’s AP Poll, coming in behind No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Florida and No. 4 Alabama. Tennessee came in ahead of No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 15 Missouri, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 24 Ole Miss.
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With three weeks left in the regular season, Tennessee basketball is 8-5 in SEC play and is competing to earn a top-four seed and the subsequent double-bye in the SEC Tournament. The Vols are currently tied for sixth place in the conference, half a game behind Missouri and a game behind Florida and Texas A&M.
Tennessee has its midweek open date this week before facing No. 7 Texas A&M this Saturday in College Station. With the Vols currently behind the Aggies in the standings, a win in College Station would be incredibly beneficial for Tennessee’s SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament seeding.
The Vols have four games left in the regular season following the Texas A&M game. Tennessee has road games at LSU and Ole Miss as well as home matchups against Alabama and South Carolina.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Texas A&M is at noon ET on Saturday afternoon. ESPN is broadcasting the game.
