As you have likely heard, the Tennessee men's basketball team has fallen outside of the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time since March 21, 2021, and people are looking to head coach Rick Barnes for answers.
Less than six months ago, Barnes was busy signing his lifetime contract with the Tennessee Volunteers, guaranteeing his role as the Vols' head coach until he decides to step down.
That lifetime contract clearly didn't cement a lifetime spot in the Top 25 for Barnes and his squad, as Tennessee is off to one of its worst starts in recent memory and is only falling further down the SEC (and national) standings.
Barnes scrambling for answers but job is more than secure
After Tennessee's most recent loss, a demoralizing defeat at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats after leading by 17 points, Barnes didn't have a lot of answers for what had gone wrong in the game.
And the things that we did in the first half, the question is, why didn't we do it? I don't know why. I don't," Barnes said about the Vols' second-half breakdown. "We didn't guard the ball well enough. We didn't defend well enough to win the game."
At halftime, Tennessee held an 11-point lead over Kentucky. In the second half, the Wildcats outscored the Vols by 13 points to claim the 80-78 victory.
Before the loss, the Vols had been in the Top 25 (whether that meant being the No. 1 team in the country or the No. 25 team) for 90 weeks straight, which was the second-longest streak in the nation. Now, Tennessee is having to press reset on its AP Poll streak and, seemingly, its expectations for the season.
Tennessee has dropped out of the AP Poll for the first time since March 15, 2021 😮
— Vol Report (@AllVolReport) January 19, 2026
The Vols were second only to Houston for the longest active streak, with 90 consecutive weeks ranked in the AP Poll.
Insane. pic.twitter.com/sYS92yvZxB
Since taking over the Volunteers in 2015, Barnes led Tennessee to just one losing season (his first with the team, 2015-16), but had since gained firm control of a winning program in Knoxville.
With seven consecutive seasons of an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and numerous conference titles in tow, it seemed like all was well with the Tennessee men's basketball team, hence the lifetime contract for Barnes. Now, things don't seem to be going as swimmingly as people thought.
The Vols have an opportunity for a get-right game as they take on the No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 8:30 p.m. ET. The conference matchup, which could secure Tennessee's return to the Top 25, will be broadcast on ESPN.