KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is in the top seven of both national polls for the ninth consecutive week.
Tennessee (16-2, 3-2 SEC) retained its spot at sixth in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and dropped one position to seventh overall in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, as revealed Monday afternoon.
This is the 71st consecutive week the Volunteers are in the AP rankings, a span that extends across four campaigns and dates to the 2021-22 preseason poll. That number is 34 greater than the previous program record and is the third-longest active streak in America, behind only Houston (97) and Kansas (76). No other program is at even 55-plus, while the closest SEC program, Kentucky (33), has the eighth-longest streak and is 38 shy of Tennessee.
Tennessee is listed in the AP top 15 for the 45th time in the last 48 releases, a mark that dates to Nov. 28, 2022. It is in the AP top 10 for the 67th time in head coach Rick Barnes‘ tenure, including the ninth in a row.
The Volunteers split their two contests last week. They first picked up a 74-56 home triumph Wednesday at Food City Center versus No. 23 Georgia behind a game-best 19 points from senior guard Jordan Gainey. Saturday, Tennessee dropped a one-point decision, 76-75, on the road at Vanderbilt despite four players scoring 16-plus, including fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier leading the way with 17.
Tennessee racked up 1,170 points in the AP Poll this week, 19 ahead of seventh-place Houston. In the Coaches Poll, it earned 584 points to rank 26 in front of eighth-place Michigan State.
The Volunteers are among nine SEC teams in the top 25 of both polls, eight of which form half of the top 16 in each. Barnes’ team is joined by top-ranked Auburn, No. 4/3 Alabama, No. 5/6 Florida, ninth-ranked Kentucky, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 22/24 Missouri. Meanwhile, Georgia and Vanderbilt are listed in the receiving category from each outlet, while Oklahoma garnered votes in the Coaches Poll.
Tennessee is tied for the third-best winning percentage in the country with an .889 mark and places fourth in the NCAA NET rankings.
Up next for the Volunteers is a top-15 showdown, the first AP-ranked matchup in series history, with No. 14 Mississippi State, with action slated for Wednesday at 7 p.m., live on ESPN2 from Food City Center.
