Tennessee moves up to No. 1 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Rankings
Add another No. 1 ranking to the list for Tennessee Basketball. This one on Thursday came from ESPN’s men’s college basketball power rankings, with the Vols moving up to No. 1 ahead of Auburn.
“After looking at résumés, metrics, head-to-head results and everything in between,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote, “the new No. 1 in the Power Rankings was clear: Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers.”
Tennessee (8-0) is off to its best start in the 10-year Rick Barnes era and the program’s best start since the 2000-01 team started 9-0.
The Vols on Monday came in at No. 1 in the first NET rankings of the season. They’re No. 2 overall in the KenPom.com ratings and moved up to No. 3 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll on Monday.
Tennessee replaced Dalton Knecht with Chaz Lanier without ‘missing a beat’
“The Vols have won each of their first eight games by at least 15
points,” Borzello wrote, “including blowouts away from home over Louisville, Virginia and Baylor.
“They have one of the elite defenses in the country yet again, and somehow Barnes struck gold in the transfer portal — again — replacing Dalton Knecht with Chaz Lanier and not missing a beat.”
Tennessee is No. 2 overall in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric. The Vols are No. 9 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
On Monday afternoon, when the new AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll are updated and released, Tennessee should be ranked No. 1 for just the third time in program history.
Four teams of the top five teams from this week’s AP’s poll lost over the last two days: No. 1 Kansas (at Creighton), No. 2 Auburn (at Duke), No. 4 Kentucky (at Clemson) and No. 5 Marquette (at Iowa State).
Tennessee was ranked No. 1 for four weeks in 2018-19, when the Vols set a new program record with 19 straight wins and started the season 23-1. They were ranked No. 1 for one week during the 2007-08 season.
Top 10
- 1Live
SEC Football Schedule
Week by week schedule revealed
- 2
Rich Rodriguez
WVU expected to hire former HC
- 3New
Belichick contract
Details out on UNC deal
- 4
Garrett Nussmeier
LSU QB announces 2025 return
- 5
Bill Belichick
UNC finalizing deal with legend
Borzello had nine teams ranked his top 25: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Auburn, No. 8 Kentucky, No. 11 Alabama, No. 12 Florida, No. 14 Ole Miss, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 22 Mississippi State.
Up Next: No. 3 Tennessee vs. Miami, Jimmy V Classic
The Vols, currently projected as a No. 1 seed in ESPN Bracketology, face Miami (3-5) on Tuesday (6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. They go to Illinois next Saturday for the toughest test of the season to date.
Lanier has been the biggest reason Tennessee has climbed quickly over the first month of the season, after being ranked No. 12 in the preseason polls.
He’s averaging 18.8 points per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 47.7% on 65 attempts from the 3-point line.
“Chaz Lanier had one of the best early-November performances a few weeks ago against Louisville,” Borzello wrote, “scoring 19 points and announcing himself as a surefire impact transfer. Over the past four games, though, he has taken his game to an entirely different level.
“The North Florida transfer is averaging 23.8 points over that stretch, shooting nearly 47% from 3-point range. He scored at least 25 points against Virginia, Baylor and Syracuse.”
