It’s been a heck of a ride in 2024 for Tennessee athletics. Between an Elite Eight trip with Dalton Knecht earning SEC player of the year, a baseball national championship, and the football team making the school’s first-ever playoff, things are great on Rocky Top.
It looks like the basketball team could end the year in the top spot in the rankings, to boot.
The Vols are set to move up to the #1 spot in the polls when they’re released on Monday after the completion of interconference play across the country this week.
Tennessee took care of business on Tuesday night during the SEC/ACC challenge – with the SEC won in landslide fashion 14-2 – dominating Syracuse 96-70 at the Food City Center. However, they were the only team in the top five to take care of business this week. And speaking of the SEC/ACC challenge, the only two teams to lose were two of the SEC’s top teams. #4 Kentucky fell at Clemson on Tuesday, and #2 Auburn lost at Duke last night.
Meanwhile, #1 Kansas lost at Creighton in convincing fashion, 76-63 in the Big 12/Big East battle. #5 Marquette also lost to #6 Iowa State in that same interconference showdown 81-70. As the Cyclones already have a loss, they surely won’t leap undefeated Tennessee.
So the Vols will ascend to #1 on Monday, and the question then becomes, where does Tennessee stumble for the first time? The Vols have a significant challenge on the road at #19 Illinois on December 14, but beyond that, they should be double digit favorites in every day until SEC play starts shortly after the new year begins.
Sure, it’s early, but it’s always cool to see #1 next to your team’s name in any sport. Vol fans will be seeing that soon with Rick Barnes’ impressive 2024-25 team.