Tennessee basketball drops a couple of spots in the updated AP Poll ranking after a strong 2-0 start to the season. The Vols head into the second week of the season as the No. 20 team in the country.
BREAKING: College Basketball AP Poll🏀 https://t.co/0H5QRGnb2s pic.twitter.com/JEmagyRxf2
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Despite the solid start, the Vols were one of six undefeated teams to drop in the AP Poll this week, including Purdue, which fell from No. 1 to No. 2 in the new rankings.
Tennessee is one of six SEC teams in the top 25. They are joined by No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 10 Florida, No. 21 Arkansas, and No. 22 Auburn.
Some notable games this past week include Alabama's thrilling 103-96 upset win over St. John's in Madison Square Garden. Florida also dropped seven spots after an opening season loss to Arizona, who are now ranked No. 5 in the country.
Freshman forward Nate Amend leads the team in scoring and rebounds with 20.5 points per game and 8.5 boards per game to start the year, but J.P. Estrella and Ja'Kobi Gillespie have also shown some bright spots to begin the season.
The Vols haven't faced a true test like some teams in the top 25, but they will sooner rather than later. Rick Barnes' team has a couple of weeks to iron out any issues before facing No. 1 Houston, No. 14 Illinois, and No. 12 Louisville over the next two weeks.
While Tennessee hasn't done anything impressive or reached an eyebrow-raising rank, it will have plenty of opportunities to make itself heard when it faces some of the best teams in the country in preparation for conference play beginning in January.
Tennessee will host North Florida on Wednesday and Rice on Saturday as it continues to improve with a relatively young team this year.