Tennessee basketball has a case to be ranked No. 1 again. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.Tennessee spent a program-record five straight weeks ranked No. 1 from early December to early January. Will Tennessee be ranked No. 1 after Auburn, Duke losses? UT could receive first-place votes, but Alabama likely will […]
Tennessee basketball has a case to be ranked No. 1 again.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.Tennessee spent a program-record five straight weeks ranked No. 1 from early December to early January.
Will Tennessee be ranked No. 1 after Auburn, Duke losses?
UT could receive first-place votes, but Alabama likely will be atop the polls. A likely scenario is Alabama will be No. 1, with Auburn slipping to No. 2, while Tennessee rises to No. 3. It also is plausible Tennessee remains No. 4, with Alabama jumping to No. 1 and Auburn and Duke each dropping a spot.Florida could receive some consideration after its win at Auburn, which is one of the most impressive this season. The Vols and Gators split their meetings: Florida won 73-43 on Jan. 7 in Gainesville, and Tennessee won 64-44 on Feb. 1 in Knoxville.Tennessee won both its games since the latest USA TODAY coaches poll. It beat Missouri 85-81 on Wednesday, then hammered Oklahoma 70-52 on Saturday.
The No. 4 Vols (20-4, 7-4 SEC) won both their games this week, then had a pair of favorable results Saturday as No. 1 Auburn lost 90-81 to No. 6 Florida and No. 2 Duke lost 77-71 at No. 21 Clemson. No. 3 Alabama won 85-81 at Arkansas to make a push for the top ranking.BOOMED:Why Tennessee basketball’s first half at Oklahoma was ‘pretty special’ to Rick Barnes
Tennessee has been the No. 1 team in the polls three times, including twice under coach Rick Barnes.
Tennessee basketball’s history as No. 1 team
Auburn also could remain No. 1. The Tigers received 29 of 31 first-place votes in the latest poll before losing to the highly regarded Gators.The Vols were ranked No. 1 for one week in the 2007-08 season, but they lost at Vanderbilt in their next game and fell from the top spot.
The Vols were the top-ranked team for four consecutive weeks during the 2018-19 season. They reached No. 1 on Jan. 21, 2019, and held it into mid-February before a loss at Kentucky ended a 19-game winning streak and the top ranking. The four-week streak was the longest in program history until this season.Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
