Tennessee basketball moves up six spots in updated AP Top 25
Tennessee jumped up six spots in Monday’s updated Associated Press Top 25 and is now ranked No. 7, its highest ranking of the season. The Vols were previously ranked as high as No. 11 and as low as No. 22 in the poll.
The Vols (7-1) have won six straight games and host Eastern Kentucky (2-4) on Wednesday (7 p.m. Eastern Time; TV: SEC Network) at Thompson-Boling Arena. It’s the end of a three-game homestand that started with a 76-40 win over McNeese State on Wednesday and continued with a 94-40 win over Alcorn State on Sunday.
Tennessee on Monday debuted at No. 4, as the highest-ranked SEC team, in the first NET rankings of the new season. The NET, which replaced the RPI, is the metric the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses to seed the 68-team tournament field on Selection Sunday in March.
Tennessee’s schedule strengthens on the road this weekend
Tennessee goes back on the road this weekend, facing No. 13 Maryland (8-0) on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET; TV: Fox Sports 1) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a Hall of Fame Invitational game. The first true road test of the season comes on December 17 at No. 10 Arizona.
Tennessee is up to No. 3 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, trailing only No. 1 Houston and No. 2 Texas. The Vols are the highest-ranked one-loss team and are ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 32 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
ESPN’s college basketball power rankings on Monday has Tennessee at No. 11 overall, one spot behind No. 10 Maryland.
“Five-star freshman Julian Phillips arrived in Knoxville as the type of player who could be the X-factor in the NCAA tournament and cause matchup issues in March,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote of the Vols. “And after an up-and-down start, Phillips is beginning to show those signs of making a consistent impact for the Volunteers. He has hit double figures in five of his last six games, including 25 points and eight rebounds against USC in the Bahamas.
“He’s coming off a very solid week, going for 12 points, five rebounds and four assists on Wednesday against McNeese, and 18 points, four boards and three assists on Sunday against Alcorn State.”
Up Next: Tennessee vs. Eastern Kentucky, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Tennessee senior wing Josiah-Jordan James missed four games due to knee soreness. He led the Vols at 13.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game at the time of the absences. James returned on Sunday against Alcorn State, playing 14 minutes off the bench, but the Vols were without senior shooting guard Santiago Vescovi, who suffered a left shoulder sprain in the win over McNeese State on Wednesday.
Vescovi leads Tennessee in scoring (12.0 points per game) and minutes (32.3 per game. He’s second in rebounding (5.0 per game), assists (24) and steals (18).
He was named Battle 4 Atlantis MVP after scoring 20 points and grabbing six rebounds in a 64-50 win over then-No. 3 Kansas in the tournament’s championship game on November 25. He scored 40 points, 15 rebounds an 10 assists over three games in the Bahamas as the Vols went through Butler, Southern Cal and Kansas to win the title.
“I would say day-to-day,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said of the status for Vescovi Sunday night.“We knew he wasn’t going to play today. Yesterday we knew we were going to limit Josiah to some minutes today, because he’s feeling better, obviously.”
