The Associated Press released its annual preseason poll Monday, and the Tennessee men’s basketball team earned its highest preseason ranking ever at No. 6.
UT has been ranked in the preseason AP poll 14 times, with the previous high of No. 7 coming during the 2007-08 campaign. That year, the Vols made their way to No. 1 for the first time ever and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
The last time Tennessee began the year in the top 10 was prior to the 2009-10 season, when the Big Orange started out ranked 10th. The Volunteers would go on to make their deepest postseason run in school history that season, advancing to the Elite Eight. This marks the sixth time UT will start the season ranked in the top 10.
The 2010-11 campaign was the most recent season the Vols earned a spot in the preseason poll, landing at No. 23 heading into the season-opener.
Kansas nabbed the top spot in the rankings, while Kentucky and Gonzaga claimed the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. Both the Wildcats and the Bulldogs are on UT’s slate for this season, while a matchup against the Jayhawks could occur in the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York. Auburn (11th), West Virginia (13th) and Mississippi State (18th) are also on the Vols’ schedule this year, with the Mountaineers and Bulldogs set to come to Knoxville.
After winning the regular-season championship last year, the Big Orange was picked to finish second in this year’s SEC race by a panel of SEC and national media members.
Tennessee returns 14 players from last year’s SEC Championship team that finished 26-9 and 13-5 in SEC play, including 2017-18 SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams. Reigning SEC Coach of the Year Rick Barnes enters his fourth year with the Vols needing only four wins to ascend past the legendary John Wooden into 26th place on the all-time Division I wins list.
Season tickets remain available, and single-game tickets are moving fast. Tennessee’s home games against West Virginia (Jan. 26) and Kentucky (March 2) are already sold out, and fewer than 100 remain available for the home game against Florida on Feb. 9.
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