KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is No. 18 nationally in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll, as announced Monday afternoon.
This is the sixth consecutive season the Volunteers open as an AP top-20 team, dating to the 2020-21 campaign. The six-year streak preseason AP top-25 streak is the longest in program history eclipsing the mark set from 2006-07 to 2010-11.
Tennessee is in the preseason AP poll for the 20th time, including the 12th in the last 20 years. This is the program’s 18th AP preseason top-20 nod, seven of which are in the past eight years under head coach Rick Barnes.
This is the 81st consecutive AP top 25 ranking for Tennessee, dating to the 2021-22 preseason poll. That mark is 44 greater than the previous program high of 37 weeks, set from March 1999 to Feb. 2001. In addition, the Volunteers’ 81-week streak is the second-longest active figure in the nation, trailing only Houston (107). No other school is even above 60 weeks, while the closest SEC school is fifth-place Kentucky at 43 weeks, 38 shy of Tennessee.
Barnes’ team has earned an AP top-20 spot in 76 of those 81 weeks. This is the 59th straight AP top-20 placement for Tennessee. It is also the ninth straight year the Volunteers have reached the AP top 20; the prior program record was seven in a row from 1966-67 to 1972-73.
Furthermore, Barnes has now led Tennessee to a total of 135 AP rankings across his tenure on Rocky Top, all since the 2017-18 campaign.
Tennessee registered 462 points in the voting, good for nine more than Kansas, which took the No. 19 position.
The Volunteers are one of six SEC teams in the top 25, alongside third-ranked Florida, ninth-ranked Kentucky, No. 14 Arkansas, No. 15 Alabama and No. 20 Auburn. Five other SEC schools received votes in the balloting: Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
As released earlier Tuesday, Tennessee placed third in the SEC preseason media poll. The Volunteers are also ninth nationally in the KenPom preseason rankings, including third in the SEC.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
