Tennessee men’s basketball keeps on climbing in the polls, this time all the way up to No. 3 in the Dec. 2 AP Poll after a chaotic Feast Week.
The Vols jumped up four spots in the rankings, leapfrogging UConn, Houston, Gonzaga and Iowa State in the latest AP Top 25. All three teams suffered at least one defeat in multi team events.
Connecticut went 0-3 with losses against Memphis, Colorado and Dayton in the Maui Invitational. Houston went 1-2 in the Players Era Festival with losses to Alabama and San Diego State around a victory over Notre Dame. Gonzaga had a better showing at the Battle 4 Atlantis, dropping its first game against West Virginia before rebounding with wins over Indiana and Davidson. Iowa State fell to Auburn at the Maui Invitational before defeating Dayton and Colorado
After winning the Baha Mar Tournament the week prior, Tennessee had a boring Thanksgiving week. The Vols railroaded UT Martin 78-35 on Wednesday night behind 18 points from Chaz Lanier and a 10-point, 11-rebound and four-block performance from Felix Okpara.
More From RTI: Darlinstone Dubar Appreciative Of Tennessee Basketball In Time Away From Court
Tennessee’s defense was phenomenal against the Skyhawks, holding them to 35 points which is the current lowest in Thompson-Boling Arena history. The Vols improved to 7-0 with the victory and exits November unbeaten including three wins over power five teams.
Rick Barnes’ 10th Tennessee team enters December as the second highest ranked team in the SEC behind only No. 2 Auburn. The Vols come in ahead of No. 4 Kentucky, No. 10 Alabama, No. 13 Florida, No. 21 Oklahoma, No. 22 Texas A&M and No. 23 Ole Miss.
Tennessee begins a three-game stretch against power five teams on Tuesday night when they host Syracuse in the ACC-SEC Challenge. It’s Tennessee’s only game of the week before they face Miami in New York City and Illinois in Champagne the ensuing week. Both Syracuse and Miami are two of the worst power five teams in the country but the road challenge at Illinois will be a very challenging task.
Tipoff between the Vols and Orange is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Tuesday night. ESPN is broadcasting the game.
