University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Vols Place Sixth in National Polls Entering NCAA Tournament
March 18, 2024 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men's basketball team is ranked sixth in the country in both major polls this week.
Tennessee (24-8, 14-4 SEC) comes in at sixth in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, as announced Monday afternoon, and in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, as revealed Sunday night. Both positions are one below where it sat last week.
The Volunteers are in the AP top 25 for the 58th straight week, good for the third-longest streak in the nation behind only Houston (84) and Kansas (63), while the only other team at 40-plus is Arizona (56). That 58-week ledger is 21 above the previous program best of 37. The Volunteers have earned a top-10 spot in well over half of those weeks, 31 of 58.
This is the 14th week in a row Tennessee is in the AP top 10, tied for the second-longest streak in program history alongside a stretch during the 2000-01 season. The only longer mark was a 20-week run in 2018-19, also under the direction of Rick Barnes. Of the Volunteers' five all-time double-digit streaks, three are during the tenure of Barnes, who has led the program 56 of its 150 total AP top-10 rankings, 37.3 percent of its all-time total.
Tennessee dropped its lone contest last week, falling to Mississippi State, 73-56, in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville, Tenn., despite a game-best 20 points from junior guard Zakai Zeigler, who surpassed 1,000 in his career in the setback.
The Volunteers amassed 1,158 points in this week's AP Poll voting, as well as 595 in the Coaches Poll balloting.
Yet again, Tennessee is the highest-ranked team in the SEC, which boasts five top-20 teams. Auburn places seventh, with Kentucky at No. 12, South Carolina at No. 16/17 and Alabama at No. 19/18. In addition, Florida is No. 23 in the Coaches Poll, while receiving votes in the AP Poll. Mississippi State also earned votes in the AP Poll balloting.
Second-seeded Tennessee begins NCAA Tournament competition Thursday at 9:20 p.m. when it squares off with No. 15-seeded Saint Peter's at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., live on TNT.
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.
Tennessee (24-8, 14-4 SEC) comes in at sixth in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, as announced Monday afternoon, and in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, as revealed Sunday night. Both positions are one below where it sat last week.
The Volunteers are in the AP top 25 for the 58th straight week, good for the third-longest streak in the nation behind only Houston (84) and Kansas (63), while the only other team at 40-plus is Arizona (56). That 58-week ledger is 21 above the previous program best of 37. The Volunteers have earned a top-10 spot in well over half of those weeks, 31 of 58.
This is the 14th week in a row Tennessee is in the AP top 10, tied for the second-longest streak in program history alongside a stretch during the 2000-01 season. The only longer mark was a 20-week run in 2018-19, also under the direction of Rick Barnes. Of the Volunteers' five all-time double-digit streaks, three are during the tenure of Barnes, who has led the program 56 of its 150 total AP top-10 rankings, 37.3 percent of its all-time total.
Tennessee dropped its lone contest last week, falling to Mississippi State, 73-56, in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville, Tenn., despite a game-best 20 points from junior guard Zakai Zeigler, who surpassed 1,000 in his career in the setback.
The Volunteers amassed 1,158 points in this week's AP Poll voting, as well as 595 in the Coaches Poll balloting.
Yet again, Tennessee is the highest-ranked team in the SEC, which boasts five top-20 teams. Auburn places seventh, with Kentucky at No. 12, South Carolina at No. 16/17 and Alabama at No. 19/18. In addition, Florida is No. 23 in the Coaches Poll, while receiving votes in the AP Poll. Mississippi State also earned votes in the AP Poll balloting.
Second-seeded Tennessee begins NCAA Tournament competition Thursday at 9:20 p.m. when it squares off with No. 15-seeded Saint Peter's at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., live on TNT.
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.
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