Tennessee Basketball ties program record for best start, last undefeated team left standing
No. 1 Tennessee did more than just tie a program record for the best start to a season with its 76-52 win over No. 23 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. The Vols ended the day as the last undefeated team left standing in college basketball, too.
Both No. 6 Florida and No. 12 Oklahoma entered the start of SEC play on Saturday with perfect 13-0 records, but both teams lost on the road. The Gators fell 106-100 at No. 10 Kentucky and the Sooners lost 107-79 at No. 5 Alabama.
The week started with four undefeated teams left, but Drake lost 74-70 at Illinois Chicago on Wednesday, dropping its first game after a 12-0 start.
Tennessee has won 14 straight games for just the fourth time in program history
Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) has now matched the 1922-23 Vols for the best start in program history. The 1922-23 team started 14-0 as part of a 17-game schedule, with a list of wins that included Camp Benning, Maryville, Tusculum, Milligan, Georgetown (Ky.), Centre, Transylvania, Centenary and Emory & Henry.
The undefeated start will be put to a heavy test when the Vols go to Florida on Tuesday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN2) then to Texas on Saturday.
Tennessee’s 14-game win streak is just the fourth in program history, but the second during the Rick Barnes era. The 2018-19 team won 19 straight games and a 15-game win streak bridged the 1914-15 and 1915-16 seasons, to go with the 14-game win streak to start the 1922-23 season.
The win over Arkansas should mean Tennessee will keep its No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll for a fifth straight week, which would be another program record.
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Vols have been ranked No. 1 in AP Top 25, Coaches Poll for four weeks
The 2018-19 team was ranked No. 1 for four weeks during its 19-game win streak. The 2007-08 team spent one week at No. 1, after becoming the first Tennessee team to be ranked No. 1.
The Vols are ranked No. 2 overall in the NET with a 3-0 record in Quad 1 games, a 1-0 record in Quad 2 and a combined 9-0 record in Quad 3 and 4. Auburn is No. 1 with a 6-1 Quad 1 record and 6-0 Quad 3 and Quad 4 record.
Tennessee is No. 4 overall in the KenPom.com ratings — behind No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Houston — but the Vols went back to No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency on Saturday.
The Vols are giving up just 87.2 points per 100 possessions after limiting Arkansas to 52 points on Saturday. Tennessee is No. 20 in adjusted offensive efficiency, at 119.2 points per 100 possessions.
