Tennessee Reaches No. 1 in AP Poll for First Time Since 2008

Losses by Duke, Virginia and Michigan in the last week paved the way for the Vols to ascend to No. 1 for the second time in school history.

Tennessee is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll after three of the top five teams lost last week.

The Vols received 48 of 64 first-place votes from a media panel on Monday, well ahead of No. 2 Duke with 11. No. 3 Virginia received three first-place votes and No. 6 Michigan State had two. Gonzaga and Michigan rounded out the top five.

Tennessee rolled over Arkansas and edged Alabama in its two games last week, while Duke, Michigan and Virginia all lost.

The Blue Devils lost to Syracuse in overtime last Monday, but bounced back to knock Virginia from the unbeaten ranks with a 72–70 victory on Saturday.

Michigan lost to Wisconsin on Saturday as well, leaving the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers as the last Division I team to finish a season undefeated.

No. 7 Kansas, No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 9 Virginia Tech also lost. The Jayhawks fell two spots after losing to West Virginia. The Red Raiders dropped six spots to No. 14 after losses to Iowa State and Baylor. The Hokies were down one to No. 10 following a loss to Virginia.

In all, 13 ranked teams lost last week.

GREENE: Tennessee Basketball's Rise Back to the Spotlight

The full poll is below:

1. Tennesssee (48)
2. Duke (11)
3. Virginia (3)
4. Gonzaga
5. Michigan
6. Michigan State (2)
7. Nevada
8. Kentucky
9. Kansas
10. Virginia Tech
11. North Carolina
12. Marquette
13. Maryland
T-14. Texas Tech
T-14. Buffalo
16. Auburn
17. Houston
18. Villanova
19. Iowa
20. Ole Miss
21. NC State
22. Mississippi State
23. Louisville
24. Iowa State
25. LSU

Others Receiving Votes: Florida State, Purdue, Kansas State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Washington, Murray State, Cincinnati, Wofford, Saint Louis, San Francisco, Florida, TCU, Hofstra.