Tennessee basketball is the new No. 1 team in the country.
The Vols ascended from No. 3 to the top-spot in the latest AP Poll on Monday after defeating Syracuse in their lone game last week while carnage ensued around them.
No. 1 Kansas fell twice last week, first at Creighton on Wednesday night before losing at Missouri in the rivalry showdown on Sunday afternoon. No. 2 Auburn dropped its first game of the season when they fell at then-No. 9 Duke on Wednesday night.
But even behind Tennessee, more teams lost last week. No. 4 Kentucky fell in the SEC-ACC Challenge at Clemson before earning a comeback win over Gonzaga in Seattle later in the week. It was a similar situation for No. 5 Marquette who dropped its first game of the season at Iowa State on Wednesday before bouncing back with a win over Wisconsin.
Tennessee is one of just eight undefeated teams in men’s college basketball and one of just three undefeated power five teams. Ironically, Florida and Oklahoma are the only other undefeated teams and they both play in the SEC.
The Vols are one of nine SEC teams in this week’s AP Poll coming in ahead of No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 7 Alabama, No.9 Florida, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 17 Texas A&M, No. 19 Ole Miss and No. 25 Mississippi State.
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It’s just the third time and sixth overall week that Tennessee has occupied the top-spot in the AP Poll. The Vols spent one week as the nation’s No. 1 team during the 2007-08 season before spending four weeks as the No. 1 team during the 2018-19 season with Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield leading the way for Rick Barnes’ ninth Tennessee team.
Things have been rocky for Tennessee in its first game as the No. 1 team each of the last two times. The Vols lost 62-59 at Vanderbilt in 2008 and then survived an 88-83 overtime scare against a bad Vanderbilt team in 2019.
But overall, Tennessee has been good as the nation’s No. 1 team and boasts an 8-2 record in those games. The scare against Vanderbilt in 2019 was the first of seven straight wins as the nation’s top team before losing at top five Kentucky.
The newly minted No. 1 team has a pair of power five challenges this week. First, Tennessee travels to New York City to face Miami in the Jimmy V Classic. Then Tennessee heads to Champagne to face a strong Illinois team in perhaps its most challenging non conference matchup.
If the Vols survive that this week, they could have another long stint with matchups against Western Carolina, MTSU and Norfolk State before opening SEC play on Saturday, Jan. 4 against Arkansas.
