1/16/2023 basketball Edit

Tennessee drops to No. 9 in latest AP Top 25 hoops poll

Tennessee dropped its first SEC game against Kentucky on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena. (Knoxville News-Sentinel)

Noah Taylor • VolReport

Managing Editor

Noah is a graduate of the UT College of Journalism & Electronic Media and has covered Tennessee football since 2019. He joined Rivals in 2022.

Tennessee basketball is down four spots in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.

On the heels of a 63-56 upset loss against Kentucky at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, the Vols dropped out of the top five on Monday — coming in at No. 9 with 1,019 votes.

It was an uncharacteristic performance for Tennessee, which was outrebounded 43-23 and missed 11 layups — resulting in its first SEC loss and first home loss in 26 games.

Tennessee still sits as the second highest ranked SEC team behind Alabama, which stayed steady at No. 4 after beating LSU 106-66 on Saturday. The Vols will play the Crimson Tide on Feb. 15 in Knoxville.

Other teams on the Vols' upcoming schedule that are also ranked as this week are No. 7 Texas (Jan. 28) No. 16 Auburn, (Feb. 4 and March 4) and No. 25 Arkansas (Feb. 28).

Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 SEC) will try to bounce back with back-to-back road games looming this week at Mississippi State and LSU.

Tennessee plays Mississippi State (12-5, 1-4) at Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The Vols beat the Bulldogs 87-53 on Jan. 3 in Knoxville.

Mississippi State is coming off a 69-63 loss at No. 16 Auburn on Saturday.

LSU hosts Tennessee at the Maravich Center on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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