Where Tennessee Basketball is ranked in ESPN's Jay Bilas Index

Tennessee Basketball is the ninth-best team in the country this season, according to The Bilas Index, the ranking of the 68 best teams in college basketball from ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. 

Purdue is ranked No. 1, ahead of No. 2 Houston. Also ahead of the Vols are No. 3 Florida, No. 4 UConn, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 St. John’s, No. 7 Michigan and No. 8 Kentucky.

“For what feels like the first time since Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld played in Knoxville,” Bilas wrote this week, “Zakai Zeigler will not be in a Vols uniform. Zeigler was the embodiment of the Vols program under coach Rick Barnes, and the heart and soul of the program for years.”

Up Next: No. 18 Tennessee vs. Northern Kentucky, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, SECN+

In total, 17 opponents on the 2025-26 schedule made the top-68 ranking from Bilas: No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Florida, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Alabama, No. 20 Arkansas, No. 24 Ole Miss, No. 27 Auburn, No. 31 Vanderbilt, No. 32 Mississippi State, No. 33 Texas A&M, No. 34 Texas, No. 35 Missouri, No. 37 Georgia, No. 57 Syracuse, No. 63 Oklahoma and No. 68 LSU.

Houston is one of Tennessee’s three opponents in the Players Era Men’s Championship in Las Vegas Nov. 24-27. The Vols go to Syracuse in the ACC-SEC Challenge on Dec. 2 and play Illinois in a neutral-site game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Dec. 6. 

Tennessee will play a home-and-home series with both Kentucky and Alabama in SEC play.

The new-look Vols have nine new players on roster this season after needing to replace much more than just Zeigler at point guard. 

“Also gone are Chaz Lanier, Igor Milicic Jr. and Jahmai Mashack,” Bilas continued, “so the Vols need to establish an identity with a new crop of players. Few are better than Barnes in accomplishing that task.”

‘(Nate) Ament is not Kevin Durant, but he conjures the image of KD’

Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie, a Greeneville, Tenn., native who spent his first two seasons at Belmont, replaces Zeigler at point guard. Barnes also went to the NCAA Transfer Portal to add guard Amaree Abram (Louisiana Tech) and power forward Jaylen Carey (Vanderbilt).

Felix Okpara, who Bilas described as “the lengthy rim-protecting and rebounding big man who made good strides offensively” anchors a post that also returns Cade Phillips and JP Estrella, while adding talented freshman DeWayne Brown. 

“But the straw that stirs it all will be Nate Ament,” Bilas wrote, “a 6-9 freshman who is as talented as any in the country.”

Ament was the No. 4 overall player in the 2025 Rivals Industry Ranking, becoming the highest-ranked recruit to ever commit to and sign with Tennessee when he picked the Vols in April. 

“Ament is not Kevin Durant,” Bilas noted, “but he conjures the image of KD, especially when one considers Barnes coached the NBA star at Texas. Expect Ament to be Barnes’ queen on the Vols’ chess board.”