Where Tennessee is ranked in the updated AP Top 25, USA Today Coaches Poll
Tennessee on Monday dropped one spot to No. 6 in the Associated Press Top 25 and two spots to No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after splitting two road games last week. The Vols lost 77-72 at Mississippi State on Wednesday, then rallied to win 85-79 at Georgia on Saturday.
The Vols (12-4, 2-1 SEC) host Florida (11-5, 1-2) on Tuesday, a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start (TV: ESPN) at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee was far from alone losing as a ranked team last week. In last week’s AP Top 25 there were 15 losses by 14 ranked teams: No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston (twice), No. 3 Kansas, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 8 Arizona, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Marquette, No. 17 Colorado State, No. 19 San Diego State, No. 21 Clemson, No. 23 Gonzaga and No. 25 Texas.
Twelve of the 15 losses were on the road.
Tennessee ranked No. 6 in NET, a No. 2 seed in ESPN Bracketology
Tennessee is No. 6 in the latest NET rankings update. The NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) replaced the RPI five years ago and is used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to help seed the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
The Vols are 2-4 in Quad 1 games, 4-0 in Quad 2 games, 1-0 in Quad 3 and 4-0 in Quad 4. Tennessee’s Quad 1 losses came against Purdue (No. 3), North Carolina (No. 7), Kansas (No. 15) and at Mississippi State (No. 35).
Houston remains at No. 1 in the NET despite going 0-2 last week, losing road games at Iowa State and TCU. Arizona is No. 2 despite having a 4-4 record over its last eight games. Alabama, Tennessee’s opponent on Saturday in Knoxville, is No. 4.
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ESPN Bracketology, which was last updated on Friday morning, has Tennessee as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region (Detroit), facing No. 15 Troy in the first round in Charlotte, opposite of No. 7 Nevada and No. 10 Ohio State. Purdue is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, ahead of No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Marquette and No. 5 Oklahoma.
Up Next: Tennessee vs. Florida, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
After the back-to-back road games at Mississippi State and Georgia, Tennessee is home for two games this week, hosting Florida on Tuesday and Alabama on Saturday.
Start time and television designation for the Alabama game was finalized on Sunday night. It will be a 2 p.m. start on ESPN2.
The Vols do not have a midweek game next week and are back on the road at Vanderbilt on Saturday, January 27, a 6 p.m. ET start on SEC Network. Tennessee then hosts South Carolina to round out the January schedule on Tuesday, January 30, a 6:30 p.m. ET start on SEC Network.
February starts with a trip to Kentucky on Saturday, February 3, an 8:30 p.m. ET start on ESPN.
