Tennessee basketball remains unranked in the Feb. 16 AP Poll following the Vols’ 2-0 week in SEC play. The Vols also remain unranked in this week’s USA Today Coaches Poll for a fifth straight week.
Tennessee received votes in both polls this week, effectively coming in at No. 28 in the AP Poll and No. 29 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
There are four SEC teams ranked in this week’s AP Poll including No. 12 Florida, No. 19 Vanderbilt, No. 20 Arkansas and No. 25 Alabama. Tennessee also has non conference wins over No. 2 Houston and No. 21 Louisville as well as non conference losses against No. 8 Kansas and No. 10 Illinois.
The Vols are coming off a 2-0 week with wins at Mississippi State and at home against LSU. Tennessee led by 23 points in the second half at Mississippi State before allowing an 18-0 run to make things interesting. The Vols steadied themselves late with big buckets by Nate Ament as they secured a 73-64.
Then against LSU, Tennessee survived a poor stretch in the middle of the game and pulled away in the game’s final minutes to earn a 73-63 victory at home.
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Nate Ament led the way for Tennessee on the 2-0 week, averaging 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and 1.5 blocks in the two games. JP Estrella bounced back from a bad performance at Kentucky, averaging 14 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the two victories.
The Vols are back in action this week with two more SEC games. Tennessee hosts Oklahoma on Wednesday night in Knoxville before traveling on the road to face Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium.
Tennessee’s matchup at Vanderbilt is the only game that they are not projected to be favored in during the rest of the regular season according to KenPom. It also marks Tennessee’s best opportunity for a marquee, resume boosting win the rest of the season.
But first, the Vols are looking to take care of business at home against Oklahoma. Tipoff between the Vols and Sooners is at 7 p.m. ET. ESPN2 is broadcasting the game.
