Where Tennessee Basketball Ranks In Feb. 3 Associated Press Top 25 Poll

Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee basketball is up four-spots to No. 4 in the Feb. 3 AP Poll following a 1-1 week where the Vols lost at home to then-No. 12 Kentucky before turning around to beat then-No. 5 Florida.

Florida, Iowa State, Houston and Michigan State were all ranked ahead of Tennessee last week and fell behind the Vols after suffering losses.

The Vols suffered an incredibly disappointing 78-73 home loss against Kentucky on Tuesday night and then blew out Florida 64-44 on Saturday afternoon behind an elite defensive performance. Tennessee’s win over Florida was all the more impressive considering the Vols were without starters Zakai Ziegler (knee) and Igor Milicic Jr (illness).

Tennessee is one of nine SEC teams in this week’s rankings coming in behind No. 1 Auburn and No. 3 Alabama and ahead of No. 6 Florida, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 14 Kentucky, No. 15 Missouri, No. 22 Mississippi State and No. 25 Ole Miss.

More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball’s Zakai Zeigler Says He’ll Return Against Missouri

Life gets a little bit easier for Tennessee this week but not much. The Vols are back at home on Wednesday night as they host Missouri for the final game in their three-game home stand. Then Tennessee heads on the road to face Oklahoma on Saturday.

Tennessee’s game against Oklahoma will end a five-game stretch of ranked matchups. Still, the Sooners are a NCAA Tournament bubble team that enter the week with a 3-5 conference record.

Missouri is one of the nation’s most improved teams this season. After going winless in SEC play last season, the Tigers come to Knoxville ranked No. 15 nationally and 18-4 (6-2 SEC) on the season.

The biggest question for Tennessee this week is the status of point guard Zakai Zeigler. The senior point guard missed Tennessee’s game against Florida wit a knee injury he suffered against Kentucky. Zeigler expressed optimism on Sunday night that he would return on Wednesday against Missouri.

Tipoff between Tennessee and Missouri is at 7 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The SEC Network is broadcasting the game.

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