KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team checks in at No. 12 nationally in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
This is the 60th consecutive week Tennessee is ranked in the AP Poll, a streak that now spans four seasons. It is 23 weeks longer than the prior top streak in program history (37 from March 1999 to Feb. 2001) and is the third-longest active mark in the nation, trailing only Houston (86) and Kansas (65). Only one other school, Arizona (58), is at even 45-plus.
Tennessee is in the AP top 15 for the 34th time in the last 37 poll releases, a span that dates back to Nov. 28, 2022.
The No. 12 position is tied with 2020-21 for the ninth-highest preseason AP Poll position in program history. This is also the fifth consecutive year Tennessee is featured in the preseason AP Poll, tying its longest mark ever, set 2006-07 to 2010-11. All five seasons have featured a top-20 placement, with four in the top 12.
In total, this is the 114th AP top-25 ranking Tennessee has earned under 10th-year head coach Rick Barnes, all since the 2017-18 campaign. For Barnes, it is the 330th AP top-25 spot his career, which is entering its 38th season.
The Volunteers collected 775 points in the balloting, good for 38 more than Texas A&M, which came in at No. 13.
Tennessee is one of nine SEC schools in the top 25, six of which are in the top 20. The Volunteers are joined by second-ranked Alabama, No. 11 Auburn, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Texas, No. 21 Florida, No. 23 Kentucky and No. 24 Ole Miss.
Source: UT Sports
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