Tennessee basketball is down two-spots to No. 21 in this week’s AP Poll following the Vols’ SEC opening loss at Arkansas on Saturday afternoon. The Vols are down two-spots to No. 22 in this week’s USA Today Coaches Poll.
Rick Barnes’ team is ranked in the AP Poll for the 89th straight time which is the longest active streak nationally. That run could be in danger this week if Tennessee drops a game against either Texas or Florida.
The Vols are one of five SEC teams in this week’s AP Poll, coming in behind No. 11 Vanderbilt, No. 13 Alabama, No. 15 Arkansas and No. 18 Georgia.
Tennessee went 1-1 last week, knocking off South Carolina State in its final non conference game of the regular season before losing to Arkansas in the SEC opener.
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Rick Barnes’ 11th Tennessee team led for much of the second half against Arkansas before an 11-0 Razorback run midway through the second half gave Arkansas control that they never relinquished. Tennessee got the deficit back to three points but were never able to get over the hump as Arkansas hit big shots late to stretch its lead out to 86-75.
Freshman Amari Evans was terrific in the loss, scoring 16 points on a perfect seven-for-seven shooting while also recording three steals. Nate Ament struggled, especially in the first half, before finishing the game with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. He shot just five-for-11 at the foul line.
Tennessee is now looking to bounce back in the second week of SEC play. The Vols face Texas in their SEC home opener on Tuesday night before traveling to Gainesville to face defending national champion Florida on Saturday afternoon.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Texas is at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday night. Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes are on the call for ESPN2.
