The Tennessee men’s basketball team moved up a spot to No. 6 in this week’s AP Poll after another 2-0 week.
The Vols extended their winning streak to eight games thanks to a blowout victory over Eastern Kentucky and a narrow neutral site win over then-No. 13 Maryland in Brooklyn.
Rick Barnes’ eighth Tennessee team was undermanned against the Terps with both Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo unable to play. The Vols built a massive first half lead before an extended Maryland comeback made the game extremely tight in the final minutes.
Tennessee never fully relinquished its lead, hitting enough shots and getting enough stops down the stretch to secure a three-point victory.
“We found a way as a group,” Barnes said postgame. “That was the sweet part about it.”
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The Vols were the highest ranked SEC team in the polls last week. However, Alabama jumped Tennessee after its road win over No. 1 Houston.
The SEC is off to a great start in the pre conference slate with six teams littering the poll. No. 4 Alabama, No. 10 Arkansas , No. 13 Kentucky, No. 17 Mississippi State and No. 19 Auburn joins Tennessee in this week’s poll.
Life doesn’t get any easier for Tennessee following the win over Maryland. The Vols are off in the mid week due to exams before traveling to Tucson to face No. 9 Arizona. Tip-off is at 10:30 p.m. ET with ESPN2 broadcasting the game.
