Tennessee Basketball is ranked No. 1 in the first NET update of the season. The Vols are 2-0 in Quad 1 games, with a neutral-site win over No. 22 Baylor and a road win at No. 30 Louisville. They’re 3-0 in Quad 3 and 2-0 in Quad 4.
Auburn is ranked No. 2, ahead of No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Pitt. Florida is No. 6, Marquette is No. 7 and Kentucky is No. 9. Kansas came in at No. 9 and Illinois is No. 10.
Tennessee (7-0) hosts Syracuse (4-2) on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in an SEC-ACC Challenge game at Food City Center. The Vols then go to New York to face Miami in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden and play at Illinois on December 14.
KenPom.com has Tennessee ranked No. 2 overall. The Vols are No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 88.7 points per 100 possessions, and are No. 11 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 119.6 points per possession.
KenPom currently projects Tennessee to go 26-5 overall with a 14-4 record in SEC play.
Alabama is ranked No. 13 in the NET and is the fifth-highest ranked SEC team. Georgia is No. 27, Mississippi State is No. 28, Oklahoma is No. 37, Texas A&M is No. 43 and Missouri is No. 46.
LSU is No. 50, Arkansas is No. 51, Ole Miss is No. 55 and Texas is No. 56. Vanderbilt is No. 62 and South Carolina is No. 135.
Vols margin of victory during 7-0 start: 26.8 points per game
Tennessee started the season with an 80-64 win over Gardner Webb, then won 77-55 at Louisville. The Vols beat Montana 92-57 and Austin Peay 103-68 before going to The Bahamas, winning the Baha Mar Championship with a 64-42 win over Virginia and a 77-62 win over Baylor.
Last week Tennessee beat UT Martin 78-35, setting a new record for least points allowed at Thompson-Boling Arena and the fewest in a game since 1973.
After hosting Miami, the Vols have three non-conference home games left before SEC play starts: Western Carolina (December 17), Middle Tennessee State (December 23) and Norfolk State (December 31).
KenPom gives Tennessee at least a 90% chance to win six of the next seven games on schedule. The Vols have a 59% chance to win at Illinois and a 90% chance to beat Arkansas in the SEC opener at home on January 4.
