Tennessee basketball moved up one-spot to No. 4 in the March 3 AP Poll following its 2-0 week with wins over LSU and Alabama. The Vols jumped rival Florida in the poll after the Gators went 1-1 with a loss at Georgia and a home win over Texas A&M.
It was one of the best weeks of the regular season for Tennessee. The Vols defeated LSU 65-59 in Baton Rouge on Wednesday night before turning around and beating No. 6 Alabama 79-76 at the buzzer on Saturday afternoon.
Jordan Gainey and Chaz Lanier carried the offensive load for Tennessee at Alabama with both players scoring 18 points. Gainey hit five midrange jumpers and helped keep Tennessee’s offense afloat while Zakai Zeigler sat with two fouls in the first half.
But it was Jahmai Mashack who was the hero for Tennessee against Alabama. Mashack was glue for Tennessee in the first half while multiple players battled foul trouble. Then in winning times, Mashack made a number of key plays on both ends of the court before hitting the game winning three-pointer from 35-feet as time expired.
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Tennessee is one of eight SEC teams in this week’s AP Poll, coming in behind No. 1 Auburn and ahead of No. 5 Florida, No. 7 Alabama, No. 15 Missouri, No. 19 Kentucky, No. 22 Texas A&M and No. 25 Mississippi State.
The Vols enter the final week of the regular season in fourth place in the SEC. Tennessee travels to Ole Miss on Wednesday night before returning to Knoxville on Saturday afternoon to face South Carolina on Senior Day.
Rick Barnes’ 10th Tennessee team is in the thick of the race for a NCAA Tournament one-seed but needs two more wins this week to boost its resume ahead of next week’s SEC Tournament. The Vols need just one win to lock up a double-bye in Nashville and could move up as far as second place in the SEC standings with two wins and some help.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Ole Miss from the Pavilion is at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. The SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
