KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team climbed four spots in both major polls this week.
Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) jumped from eighth to fourth in both the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, as released Monday afternoon.
The Volunteers are now in the AP top 10 for the 11th week in a row, tying the fifth-longest streak in program history. Four of the six all-time double-figure streaks have come in the last seven seasons under the leadership of head coach Rick Barnes.
Tennessee is in the AP top 10 for the 69th time in Barnes’ tenure and the top five for the 34th time, with the latter mark doubling the program’s entire total (17) before his arrival in 2015-16. This is the seventh occasion in 2024-25 with the team listed in the AP top four.
Overall, the Volunteers are ranked in the AP Poll for the 73rd consecutive week, a mark that extends across four campaigns and dates to the 2021-22 preseason poll. That tally is 36 greater than the prior program record and is the third-longest active figure in the country, behind only Houston (99) and Kansas (78). No other program is at even 55-plus, while the closest SEC team, Kentucky (35), has eighth-longest active streak and is 38 behind Tennessee.
In addition, this is the 47th time in the last 50 releases in which the Volunteers are listed among the AP’s top 15 teams, dating to Nov. 28, 2022.
The Volunteers split a pair of top-12 showdowns last week, both on their home court. First, they dropped a tight 78-73 decision Tuesday evening to No. 12 Kentucky despite 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists from senior forward Igor Miličić Jr. Saturday afternoon, playing without Miličić (illness) and senior guard Zakai Zeigler (right knee), the team rebounded by taking down No. 5/6 Florida, 64-44, behind 19 points from fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier and an all-around dominant defensive performance
Tennessee racked up 1,295 points in the AP Poll balloting, a 146-point improvement from last week. It earned 644 in the Coaches Poll voting, a 100-point jump.
There are nine SEC teams in the top 25 of at least one poll, including seven in the top 16 of both. Tennessee is joined on both lists by top-ranked Auburn, third-ranked Alabama, sixth-ranked Florida, No. 10/13 Texas A&M, No. 14 Kentucky and No. 15/16 Missouri. Mississippi State and Ole Miss are No. 22 and No. 25, respectively, in the AP Poll, while leading the receiving votes section of the Coaches Poll. Additionally, Oklahoma, Texas and Vanderbilt all received votes in the AP Poll.
The Volunteers play their fifth straight game against an AP top-15 foe Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they host No. 15/16 Missouri at Food City Center, live on SEC Network.
