Tennessee basketball remains ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll after winning its lone game last week against Western Carolina.
It’s the third straight week that Tennessee occupies the top-spot in the AP Poll and the Vols are 3-0 with the No. 1 ranking by its name, defeating Miami, Illinois and the Catamounts. Tennessee now boasts an 11-2 record all time while ranked as the No. 1 team in the country.
The Vols are one of 10 SEC team in this week’s poll, coming in ahead of No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Florida, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 16 Ole Miss, No. 19 Mississippi State and No. 23 Arkansas.
Tennessee is off to an 11-0 start to the season which is its best start to the season since 1999-2000. If the Vols win their final two non conference games and open SEC play with a home win over Arkansas then Tennessee will tie its best start to the season in 1922-23.
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Rick Barnes’ 10th Tennessee team has exceeded expectations offensively this season thanks in large part due to North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is averaging a team-best 18.9 points per game on 47% shooting from three-point range.
Zakai Zeigler has picked up where he left off last season and is averaging 11.4 points and 7.6 assists per game while running the Vols’ offense. Both Jordan Gainey and Igor Milicic have been other solid offensive options.
The SEC is loaded this with all 16 teams ranking in the top 65 nationally on KenPom. The nation’s top conference is also loaded at the top with four teams ranked in the top 10 and six ranked in the top 20 according to KenPom.
Tennessee is back in action on Monday night in its final game before the Christmas break. Tipoff between the Vols and Blue Raiders is at 7 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
