College Basketball Polls: Tennessee cracks the top 20 once again

In what could have been an absolute disaster of a week for the Tennessee Volunteers, Rick Barnes’ group held serve, getting two decent wins over Furman and Wake Forest. Tennessee predictably went through a little bit of a let down game on Wednesday against Furman, but they were able to find a way to get it done.

Saturday was a different story. After letting Wake Forest hang around for the first half of play, the Vols put the Demon Deacons away in a second half explosion, winning by 19 points on the road. It was the perfect end to the first two months of play as the SEC schedule looms.

There wasn’t much movement for the Vols in the polls. They were able to hop back into the top 20 of the AP Poll, however.

Tennessee in the AP Poll this week: No. 19

Last week: No. 21

View the full AP poll here.

Other notes

• North Carolina fell to No. 13 after their loss to Wofford. The Tar Heels feel victim to the classic let-down game after beating the Vols on the road just three days prior.
• Villanova — Tennessee’s only other loss — holds firm as the No. 1 team in the nation.
• At 11-1, the Texas A&M Aggies have cracked the top five of the AP Poll.
• Kentucky drops to No. 16 after their loss to UCLA.