Following the 30-point loss to Florida last week, you had a feeling the Tennessee Vols basketball team was going to take a bit of a tumble in the rankings. Tennessee enjoyed sitting in the No. 1 spot for a little while, but that's no longer the case.
On Monday, the latest version of the AP Top 25 dropped, with Auburn taking over as the No. 1 team in the country. You know what, props to Bruce Pearl, who showed Rick Barnes plenty of love after the Vols bounced back and took down Texas over the weekend. Tennessee is now the No. 6 team in the nation, but they'll hope to climb back into the Top 5 as soon as possible:
BREAKING: Updated College Basketball AP Poll🚨https://t.co/rA90GNKsIO pic.twitter.com/LrF5tkapYk
— On3 (@On3sports) January 13, 2025
Tennessee basketball is now ranked the No. 6 team in the country
Dropping five spots isn't a stunner at all and it's fair to see Florida at No. 5 after the way they dominated the Vols in Gainesville. As things stand, Auburn, Iowa State, Duke, Alabama and Florida are the Top 5 squads in the land, with Tennessee on the outside looking in.
For those of you keeping track at home, there are three SEC teams who have moved ahead of Tennessee, which no one wanted to see. However, the loss to Florida needs to serve as a major wake-up call for the rest of the campaign.
Tennessee was able to post a close win over the Longhorns in Austin, but it didn't come without some suffering. The offense was once again ice cold to start the contest - Chaz Lanier was off, finishing with only 10 points.
Thankfully, Zakai Zeigler led the way with 16 points and Tennessee was able to make enough plays late to escape with a 74-70 win. Next up is another Top 25 game at home, with No. 23 Georgia heading to Knoxville. There will be no excuses for Barnes in Co. for that matchup.