Everything that needed to happen for Tennessee to rise to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll, happened. Duke, Michigan and Virginia lost this week, making the Vols the obvious choice to rise to the top spot. It took everything Tennessee had to get past Alabama, but they found a way in the end.
Tennessee earned 48 of 64 possible first place votes in the AP Poll.
It’s the second time in program history that Tennessee has captured the No. 1 ranking. Bruce Pearl’s 2007-2008 team took the top spot after beating Memphis, but quickly lost to Vanderbilt just days later.