Tennessee falls in AP Poll following loss to Alabama

Tennessee took its first loss of the season over the weekend to Alabama in Knoxville. It was a game where nothing went right for the Volunteers, and one that saw the Crimson Tide heat up from three in the second half. Yves Pons led a charge to close the gap in the closing moments, but in the end, the damage was too much to overcome.

Tennessee fell from No. 7 to No. 9 in this week’s AP Poll, saved a bit by an impressive road win at Missouri earlier in the week. The Vols will host Arkansas on Wednesday night and then travel to Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon.

Gonzaga and Baylor held on to the top spots this week, with Villanova, Texas and Iowa entering the top five. Missouri dropped just one spot after their loss to Tennessee, remaining as the only other ranked SEC team in the current poll.

New AP Poll

1. Gonzaga

2. Baylor

3. Villanova

4. Texas

5. Iowa

6. Kansas

7. Creighton

8. Wisconsin

9. Tennessee

10. Michigan

11. Houston

12. Illinois

13. Missouri

14. West Virginia

15. Rutgers

16. Minnesota

17. Oregon

18. Texas Tech

T19. Clemson

T19. Virginia Tech

21. Duke

22. Virginia

T23. Saint Louis

T23. Michigan State

25. Florida State

One other note — Tennessee debuted at No. 3 in the first NET rankings of the year. This ranking is what the NCAA uses to determine seeding in the NCAA Tournament.