KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee men’s basketball team is off to a flying start in Southeastern conference play and has reached their highest rank of the season in the latest Associated Press poll.
The Week 10 edition of the AP Poll was released Monday with Tennessee coming in at No. 5, up three spots from the previous week.
The Vols opened SEC play with a narrow road victory over Ole Miss on Dec. 28. The team kicked off 2023 with a pair of dominant displays for their first 3-0 start to SEC play since the 2018-2019 season.
Tennessee blew out Mississippi State 87-53 in their SEC home opener with senior standout Josiah Jordan-James logging his first minutes since Dec. 5. Rick Barnes’ squad followed up their performance four days later with a 43-point victory on the road at South Carolina on Saturday.
They’ll now return to Knoxville for a pair of home games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Tennessee’s next chance to take on a ranked opponent will be on Jan. 28 when they host No. 10 Texas as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
The top four is currently comprised of Houston, Kansas, Purdue and Alabama. Tennessee will host No. 4 Alabama on Feb. 15 in a game that could decide the SEC regular season title.
