KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team maintains its position among the nation’s elite programs in this week’s polls.
The Volunteers (7-3) landed at No. 20 in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 23 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, dropping three spots from the previous week’s coaches ranking.
Historic Consistency
Tennessee’s placement marks the 65th consecutive week in the AP top 20, a streak dating back to Nov. 28, 2022. The program has now maintained top-20 status for more than three full years.
The Volunteers have appeared in the AP top 25 for 87 straight weeks, extending back to the 2021-22 preseason poll. This streak surpasses the previous program record of 37 weeks (March 1999 to February 2001) by 50 weeks.
Tennessee’s 87-week run ranks as the second-longest active streak in college basketball, trailing only Houston’s 113-week stretch. No other program has reached even 70 consecutive weeks. Within the SEC, Auburn comes closest at 41 weeks—still 46 behind the Volunteers.
During the current 87-week streak, Tennessee has earned 82 top-20 placements, including the ongoing 65-week run.
Barnes Era Success
Head coach Rick Barnes, now in his 11th season at Tennessee, has guided the program to 141 total AP Poll appearances since the 2018-19 season.
The Volunteers collected 286 points in this week’s AP Poll voting, matching last week’s total. They received 129 points in the Coaches Poll.
SEC Representation
Six SEC teams appear in the top 25 of both polls, with a seventh featured in one. Joining Tennessee are No. 13/12 Vanderbilt, No. 14 Arkansas, No. 16 Alabama, No. 21/24 Auburn, and No. 23/21 Florida. Georgia sits at No. 25 in the AP Poll and leads the receiving votes category in the Coaches Poll.
LSU and Kentucky garnered votes in both polls, while Missouri received votes in the Coaches Poll.
Looking Ahead
Tennessee has been idle since Dec. 6 and is currently in a nine-day break from competition. The Volunteers return to action Tuesday at 7 p.m., hosting No. 11 Louisville at Food City Center. The game will air live on ESPN.
Follow Tennessee men’s basketball on social media: @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, and /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Source: UT Sports
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