Tennessee basketball is at the Christmas break with eight days between the Gardner-Webb and South Carolina State games including a few days where the players will get to head home and spend time with their families.
Where is Tennessee at with one non conference game remaining? The Vols boast a 9-3 record including a 3-3 record against power five opponents. Tennessee knocked off Rutgers, Houston and Louisville while its three losses came against Kansas, Syracuse and Illinois.
The polls view Tennessee similarly. Tennessee landed at No. 19 in this week’s AP Poll and No. 20 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. But the analytical based ranking systems are higher on Tennessee.
KenPom ranks Tennessee as the No. 15 team in the country at the moment. The Vols rank No. 34 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 12 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Tennessee is the third highest ranked SEC team coming in behind just Vanderbilt and Florida.
Bart Torvik also ranks Tennessee as the No. 15 team in the country. The Vols rank 26th in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 13 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Tennessee is, again, the third highest ranked SEC team. Vanderbilt and Alabama are the two teams ranked ahead of the Vols.
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Lastly, EvanMiya ranks Tennessee as the No. 14 team in the country. The Vols rank 30th in offensive efficiency and 10th in defensive efficiency. Tennessee is the third highest ranked team in the SEC behind Vanderbilt and Florida.
Tennessee has three players averaging double-digit points per game through its first 12 games. Senior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie leads the way with 17.6 points per game to go along with a team-best 5.7 assists. Freshman Nate Ament is averaging 15.3 points along with 6.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
JP Estrella and Jaylen Carey have combined to give Tennessee an inside presence offensively. Estrella is averaging 10.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 13.4 minutes per game. Carey is averaging nine points and 6.7 rebounds per game. But the Vanderbilt transfer has been even better against power five opponents, averaging 11.2 points and eight rebounds in those six games.
Following the South Carolina State game, Tennessee basketball will face Arkansas in its SEC opener in Fayetteville on Jan. 3.
