The Volunteers are off to a hot start.
The first version of the NCAA’s NET rankings are out, and the Tennessee Volunteers have checked in at No. 1 overall. The ‘NCAA Evaluation Tool’ (NET) serves as the primary tool for the NCAA Tournament committee, establishing a metric that highlights strength of schedule and efficiency.
Tennessee’s two wins in the Bahamas, along with a blowout road win that keeps looking better and better against Louisville, have landed the Vols at No. 1 to start. Tennessee will continue playing big non-conference matchups over the next month, set to face Syracuse, Miami and Illinois ahead of SEC play.
The Volunteers already have two Quad 1 wins with plenty of chances before March to add more. Transfers Chaz Lanier, Igor Milicic and Felix Okpara have proven to be huge finds already as they continue to develop chemistry with program veterans Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Jordan Gainey.
Tennessee is already a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN. The Volunteers currently rank second in KenPom, another popular metric.
The depth of the SEC has already been on full display during the first few weeks of the season. Auburn checks in just behind Tennessee in the new NET rankings at No. 2. Florida comes in at No. 6, while Kentucky begins at No. 8. Alabama, the preseason pick to win the SEC, comes in at No. 13. Georgia and Mississippi State also cracked the top 30.
As usual, the SEC is setting up to be a knock down drag out fight until the end.
Elsewhere, Tennessee moved up to No. 3 in today’s AP top 25 poll. I guess you could say it’s been a pretty good start for Rick Barnes and company.