Basketball Vols in AP Top 25 for first time in nearly seven years

In this March 4, 2017, file photo, Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes directs his team during an NCAA college basketball game against Alabama, in Knoxville, Tenn. Barnes is on his third athletic director in his short tenure with the Vols. (Calvin Mattheis/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP, File) In this March 4, 2017, file photo, Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes directs his team during an NCAA college basketball game against Alabama, in Knoxville, Tenn. Barnes is on his third athletic director in his short tenure with the Vols. (Calvin Mattheis/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP, File)

By David Cobb December 5, 2017 3 min read

KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee men’s basketball team cracked the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday for the first time since the Bruce Pearl coaching era.

The Volunteers (6-1) are ranked 24th. They beat Mercer at home last week and defeated Georgia Tech on the road Sunday to follow up on a 2-1 performance in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

Tennessee was picked 13th out of 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference in a preseason poll of media that cover the league but are one of just four SEC teams currently ranked in the AP poll.

The Vols last were ranked in the AP poll on Dec. 20, 2010, according to Sports Reference archives. That was Pearl’s final year as coach.

Pearl’s successor, Cuonzo Martin, took Tennessee to the round of 16 in the 2014 NCAA tournament, but the Vols were not included in the season’s final AP poll, although they were ranked 23rd in the final USA Today coaches’ poll that year.