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Tennessee Basketball: Vols move up in AP Top 25, receive one first-place vote

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•12/12/22•

GrantRamey

Tennessee's Zakai Zeigler looks on after scoring against Maryland (Tennessee Athletics)
Tennessee's Zakai Zeigler looks on after scoring against Maryland (Tennessee Athletics)

Tennessee basketball moved up one spot in Monday’s updated Associated Press Top 25, to No. 6 overall, and received one first-place vote in this week’s poll.

In the new AP Top 25, Tennessee came in at No. 6. Purdue is the new No. 1 after receiving 27 first-place votes, ahead of No. 2 Virginia (19), No. 3 UConn (15) and No. 4 Alabama. Houston, the No. 1 team last week, dropped to No. 5 after a home loss to the Crimson Tide.

The Vols (9-1) on Sunday in Brooklyn won their eighth straight game, holding on late for a 56-53 win over Maryland (8-2) in a Hall of Fame Invitational game at Barclays Center.

Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists. Tyreke Key scored nine points, Olivier Nkamhoua had eight points and nine rebounds and freshman wing Julian Phillips had six points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Freshman power forward Tobe Awaka had seven points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes, all career highs.

Tennessee again played shorthanded, missing senior wing Josiah-Jordan James (knee soreness) and sophomore center Jonas Aidoo (flu-like symptoms). James, who returned to play in the previous two games for the Vols, has missed five of the first 10 games of this season with the lingering knee issue.

James, the Tennessee’s leading returning rebounder, and senior shooting guard Santiago Vescovi, the team’s leading returning scorer, have not been on the floor at the same time since a win over Florida Gulf Coast on November 16.

“For us, personally, I know we haven’t been able to get everybody together,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the game. “In some ways, you look at it, hey, once we get a chance to do that, it could be fun. Even without that, we found a way. This group found a way.” 

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee at No. 9 Arizona, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Tennessee shot 28.8 percent from the field in the second half, finishing 28.8 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line.

“You look around college basketball, and I haven’t watched a lot of it, but yeah, there is very little (separation),” Barnes said. “People tell me all the time, man, if that team is shooting well, they can beat anybody. That’s true about 150 teams in the country. Making shots, it all looks pretty. But can you win when it’s ugly? I thought that second half was certainly ugly for us, but we found a way to win the game.”

Tennessee was ranked No. 11 in the preseason AP Top 25, dropped to No. 22 after the loss to Colorado on November 13 in Nashville, and moved up to No. 13 and then No. 7 over the last two weeks.

No. 6 Tennessee does not have a midweek game this week with finals taking place on campus. The Vols are back on the road at No. 9 Arizona on Saturday night (10:30 Eastern Time; TV: ESPN2). They host Austin Peay on December  21, the final game before the Christmas break, then open SEC play at Ole Miss on December 28.

“I think you look around the country right now,” Barnes said, “I’m not sure anybody has established themselves, on a higher floor than everybody else. It’s going to be a great year of college basketball. We’re still early into it. Improvement is going to be a major hurdle for everybody. December, you know you’re never near where you need to be.”

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