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College basketball power rankings: How good is Tennessee?

By Mike Phillips

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 28: Olivier Nkamhoua #13 of the Tennessee Volunteers completes an alley-oop against the Texas Longhorns in the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 28, 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 28: Olivier Nkamhoua #13 of the Tennessee Volunteers completes an alley-oop against the Texas Longhorns in the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 28, 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images) /
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Keyonte George, Baylor Bears
G Keyonte George, Baylor Bears. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The Tennessee Volunteers had another strong week, but how good are they? Check out this week’s college basketball power rankings to find out.

In a year where there isn’t a clear-cut favorite to cut down the nets in April, plenty of contenders have emerged for the crown. Purdue, Alabama, and Houston have been mainstays atop brackets for most of the season, but one team that hasn’t received a ton of attention is Tennessee.

Last week was a good one for Tennessee, which blew out Georgia and beat No. 10 Texas at home by 11 to remain one game behind the Crimson Tide in the SEC. The resume of head coach Rick Barnes in March has raised questions about this team’s viability, especially when the Volunteers were beaten at home by a struggling Kentucky team a few weeks ago.

There is certainly high variance with the Volunteers, who could go to the Final Four or lose on the first weekend of the tournament. Read on to find out where Tennessee falls in this week’s college basketball power rankings, but first we’ll start with the honorable mentions.

Week 13 College Basketball Power Rankings – Honorable Mentions

Note: All rankings referenced in this story are based on the Week 12 AP Top 25 poll.

Xavier, TCU, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Baylor

Xavier and TCU were both in the Top 10 of last week’s rankings but fell out with road losses that were understandable given the circumstances as both Creighton and Mississippi State needed the wins to bolster their tournament resumes. The Big 12 also continues to be a meat grinder as Baylor takes the spot of Texas after a 2-0 week while Iowa State holds serve with a strange 1-1 week that included a win over Kansas State at home and a blowout loss at Missouri.

Gonzaga rounds out the group for a second straight week after another shaky road performance at Portland. The effort did result in a win thanks to 40 points from Julian Strawther but it wasn’t quite enough to push the Bulldogs back into the Top 10.