Tennessee’s No. 8 spot in the preseason AP Top 25 comes with all the shine you’d expect - and all the pressure that usually follows a ranking like that.
The Vols landed inside the top 10 when the official preseason men’s poll dropped, placing them behind Florida, Duke, Illinois, UConn, Arizona, Michigan State and Texas. Virginia and Houston round out the rest of the top 10. It’s a loaded group, and Tennessee is right in the middle of it.
But that ranking won’t carry much weight for Rick Barnes if the issues that showed up in the Vols’ recent exhibition loss to Xavier stick around. Tennessee was beaten 86-70, and Barnes made it clear afterward that what bothered him most was the response - or lack of one - when adversity hit.
The defensive end was the biggest concern. Tennessee didn’t bring the kind of urgency Barnes expects, and that’s the kind of thing that can quickly erase the value of a preseason ranking once the games start counting.
“Some of this, I'll be honest with you, you couldn't dream,” a disgusted Barnes said after the Xavier defeat. “I mean, you don't let somebody ever run by you to get a layup, all those kind of things.
But it's good. I really, I told the guys, I said, maybe now you'll realize what we've been harping on since you guys have been here.
We're going to have to learn to guard at a high rate.”
The loss also highlighted the need for Tennessee’s newcomers to settle in fast. Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris struggled badly from deep, missing all seven of his 3-point tries. VCU transfer Terrence Hill Jr. was the bright spot offensively, scoring 22 points, but that wasn’t enough to make the overall performance competitive.
There’s no damage in losing an October exhibition, of course. But with Tennessee starting the season ranked No. 8, the standard is now set higher, and the scrutiny is going to come with it. The Vols are hoping to push Barnes to the Final Four before he retires, which only makes the margin for error feel even smaller.
Tennessee has been to the Elite Eight in three straight seasons, a run that speaks for itself. The next step has remained out of reach, though, and this group still has to prove it can turn promise into something bigger.
For now, it starts with sharpening both ends of the floor before the season opener against Wofford. If Tennessee cleans things up, the ranking looks justified. If not, that top-10 label could start feeling shaky fast.
In Other News...
Tennessee's Celebration Just Added Another Twist To This Alabama Rivalry
The postgame celebration in Knoxville came with a costly catch. After Tennessees win over Alabama, the Southeastern Conference fined the university $500,000 for violating its access to competition area policy, punishing the fan rush onto the field that followed one of the programs biggest victories in recent memory. The leagues policy is designed to keep spectators out of competition areas for safety, and it only allows exceptions when procedures are approved in advance and clearly communicated.
The money will go to Alabama, adding another layer to a rivalry that already had plenty of juice. Tennessee still has a path to have the fine reduced if it can show it tried to prevent the field storming or that there was only minimal interaction during the scene, but for now the SEC has made clear that the celebration crossed a line it wasnt willing to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces A Brutal Truth After Tennessee Exposed This Weakness
Alabamas trip to Tennessee ended with a 26-10 loss that put a familiar SEC test back in sharp focus: the line of scrimmage. ESPN analyst Greg McElroy pointed to the Tides struggles up front and the offensive turnovers as major reasons the game tilted, even as Alabamas defense did enough to keep things from getting away from them early.
Tennessee, meanwhile, leaned on its running game to control the contest and keep pressure on a Tide offense that never found much rhythm. The result dropped Alabama to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, with Texas A&M next on the schedule as the Tide try to answer a question that was exposed in a hurry in Knoxville. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee's Alabama Celebration Just Reignited A Debate Vols Fans Know Well
The celebration in Knoxville is already carrying a pricey reminder. Tennessee was fined $500,000 by the Southeastern Conference after fans stormed the field following the football game against Alabama, a scene that quickly turned a big win into a league issue. Under SEC policy, spectators are not supposed to enter the field except in specific circumstances, and the penalty is being passed along to Alabama.
There is still a possible path to a smaller bill if Tennessee can show it made efforts to keep fans off the field, but the visuals from Saturday make that a tough case to sell. Video showed a large number of fans spilling onto the turf, which is exactly the kind of moment the conference has tried to discourage as it keeps revisiting how to handle field-storming celebrations. [Read more 🡒]