Tennessee basketball is ranked in No. 9 in the USA TODAY coaches poll to open the 2026-27 season.
There are six other SEC teams ranked in the top 25, led by No. 1 Florida. Tennessee will play at least 10 games against teams ranked in the preseason poll this season, with a chance for more depending on how play unfolds at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas from Nov. 24-28.
The Vols will also play an exhibition game vs. No. 2 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, on Oct. 20 (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network).
Tennessee dropped their first preseason exhibition game 86-70 vs. Xavier at Food City Center on Oct. 15. The regular season starts in Knoxville vs. Wofford on Nov. 3.
Men's college basketball preseason rankings for 2026-27 season
First-place votes in parentheses
- Florida (20)
- Duke (8)
- Illinois (2)
- Arizona
- Connecticut
- Michigan State
- Texas
- Houston
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Louisville
- Gonzaga
- Arkansas
- St. John's
- Iowa State
- Texas Tech
- Miami
- Alabama
- Kansas
- Michigan
- Vanderbilt
- USC
- Kentucky
- Purdue
- BYU
Dropped out: No. 14 Nebraska; No. 19
Iowa; No. 25 Wisconsin
Others receiving votes: Nebraska 66; UCLA 64; Missouri 60; Ohio State 31; North Carolina 24; Texas A&M 19; Villanova 14; Indiana 9; Wisconsin 5; Saint Louis 4; Cincinnati 4; West Virginia 2; Creighton 2; Maryland 1; Auburn 1.
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 30 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2026-27 season: John Becker, Vermont; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Matt Braeuer, Stephen F. Austin; Pat Chambers, Florida Gulf Coast; Scott Drew, Baylor; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; A.W. Hamilton, Eastern Kentucky; Alan Huss, Creighton; Donte’ Jackson, Alabama A&M; Ben Jacobson, Utah State; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Eric Konkol, Tulsa; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Anthony Latina, Sacred Heart; Shantay Legans, Portland; Jim Les, UC Davis; Luke Loucks, Florida State; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Mike Morrell, UNC Asheville; Andy Newman, Cal State Northridge; Nate Oats, Alabama; Matt Painter, Purdue; Paul Sather, North Dakota; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Stan Waterman, Delaware State.
Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where Tennessee basketball ranks in coaches poll to start 2026-27 season
