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Where Tennessee Basketball is ranked in final Coaches Poll, AP Top 25

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•04/08/25•

GrantRamey

Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
(Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images) Mar 30, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Chaz Lanier (2) shoots the ball against Houston Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts (13) in the second half during the Midwest Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Tennessee Basketball finished at No. 5 in both the Associated Press Top 25 the Coaches Poll, with the final polls released Tuesday afternoon after Florida beat Houston in the national championship game Monday night in San Antonio.

The ranking runs Tennessee’s program-record streak to 80 straight weeks in the rankings, dating back to the 2021-22 preseason poll. It’s the second-longest streak in the country, behind only Houston. The Vols have also been ranked in 94 of the last 97 polls.

Houston ended Tennessee’s season in the Elite Eight on March 30, winning 69-50 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Vols beat No. 15 Wofford, No. 7 UCLA and No. 3 Kentucky on their way back to the Elite Eight.

Tennessee won 30 or more games for just third time in program history

Tennessee (30-8) started the season 14-0, tying a program record for the best start to a season. They were ranked No. 1 for five weeks, between December 9 and January 6, spent 18 weeks ranked in the top 10 and 11 weeks in the top five. 

Tennessee was ranked outside the top ten just three times — the first three weeks of this season — in the AP Top 25 and just once in the Coaches Poll. 

The Vols won 30 games in a season for just a third time and advanced to the Elite Eight for just the third time, going to the Midwest Regional Final for a second straight season. 

Tennessee won 31 games in 2018-19 and in 2007-08. The Vols also went to the Elite Eight in 2010, losing to Michigan State in St. Louis, and last season, losing to Purdue in Detroit. 

Tennessee has been ranked in the top five in each of the last four seasons

The Vols have been ranked in the top five each of the last four seasons, with Kansas being the only other program to do so. Only six schools have been ranked in the top six each of the last five seasons: Tennessee, Kansas, Houston and Alabama. 

Only seven schools have been ranked No. 1 in two of the last seven seasons: Tennessee, Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Purdue and Auburn. 

Another seven have been ranked in the top-20 in each of the last eight seasons: Tennessee, Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and North Carolina. 

The Vols have played 241 games as a ranked team in the AP Poll during the Rick Barnes era, going 181-60 in those games. Tennessee is 159-55 as a top-20 team, 128-42 as a top-15 team and 102-33 as a top-15 team.

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