For the first time in over a year, Lady Vols basketball is a ranked team.
Tennessee is No. 19 in the AP Top 25 poll released on Monday. UT entered the rankings after beating Florida State and Iowa, which was its first ranked win of the season. Iowa was No. 17 in the previous AP poll.
The Lady Vols are off to a 7-0 start after beating the Hawkeyes 78-68 in the Women’s Champions Classic on Saturday at Barclays Center. It’s the first time Tennessee has entered the rankings under Lady Vols first-year coach Kim Caldwell.
Last week, UT was the first team out of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, which is released on Tuesday.
The Lady Vols have not been ranked in the AP Top 25 since Week 4 of the 2023-24 season, which was released Nov. 27, 2023. They started last season ranked, but fell out of the AP poll on Dec. 4, 2023 after dropping to 4-4.
Tennessee had only been ranked for 10 of the previous 45 weeks of the AP Top 25 since being ranked the entire 2021-22 season.
Tennessee started the season 5-0 in November, but its best win was against Middle Tennessee. December brought the Lady Vols’ first tests against Power conference opponents, and they beat two of them in one week.
FSU was ranked to start the season and fell out of the AP poll after Week 1. But it was still a solid win for Tennessee with the Seminoles ranked No. 27 in the NCAA NET rankings at the time of the matchup.
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Tennessee is now No. 27 in the NCAA NET rankings after beating FSU and Iowa.
The Lady Vols are the top offensive rebounding team in the nation, grabbing 22 per game. Their 92.6 points per game ranks third in the nation behind LSU and Florida State. Defensively, they force 28.3 turnovers per game and average 16.6 steals – both rank No. 2 in the nation.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball ranked in AP Top 25 after 7-0 start under Kim Caldwell
