Where Tennessee is ranked in updated Coaches Poll, AP Top 25 after the win over Texas A&M
Tennessee basketball moved up one spot to No. 4 in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday, the highest ranking of the season for the Vols, after the 86-51 win over Texas A&M Saturday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC), which is now tied with Alabama for first place in the SEC standings, stays home to host Auburn (21-6, 10-4) on Wednesday in a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN2.
No. 5 was previously as high as Tennessee had been ranked in the polls this season, moving there last week in both the Coaches Poll and AP Top 25. The Vols were also ranked No. 5 for the first two weeks of January.
Where the Vols stand in ESPN Bracketology, NET and KenPom
Tennessee on Sunday was Joe Lunardi’s No. 6 overall seed in his latest NCAA Tournament projection and was moved back to the Midwest Region with No. 1-seed Purdue. The Vols had previously been slotted with No. 1 Houston in the South Region.
Duke was the No. 3 seed in the Midwest behind Purdue and Tennessee and San Diego State was the No. 4 seed.
The Vols moved up to No. 5 in the NET after the win over Texas A&M, jumping Alabama after the Crimson Tide lost at Kentucky Saturday afternoon. Tennessee is 4-5 in Quad 1 games, 7-1 in Quad 2 and a combined 10-0 in Quad 3 and Quad 4 games.
KenPom.com has Tennessee at No. 6 overall in its ratings, ranked No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 91.7 points per 100 possessions, and No. 21 in offensive adjusted efficiency, scoring 118.8 points per possession.
Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Auburn, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Tennessee’s game against Auburn on Wednesday is the start of four straight Quad 1 games — against four teams that all are in the top six of the SEC standings — to end the regular-season schedule.
The Vols go to Alabama (19-8, 11-3) on Saturday, an 8 p.m. Eastern Time start (TV: ESPN) at Coleman Coliseum. After that it’s a trip to South Carolina (22-5, 10-4) next Wednesday, then a Senior Day game against Kentucky (19-8, 9-5) in the regular-season finale on March 9 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
“Every team we’re going to play from here on out is going to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the win over Texas A&M. “So it’s about building and trying to improve.
“And obviously if you think you’ve arrived just right now, every team we play, our guys understand if we’re not locked in, we can get beat and get beat badly. So it’s about mindset.”
