SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season
By Matt Melton
2. Tennessee Volunteers
Sitting at No. 2 in our 2023-24 SEC basketball preseason power rankings is Tennessee, who enter year No. 9 under head coach Rick Barnes this season.
The Volunteers are coming off yet another strong season a year ago, one in which they finished at 25-11 overall, as well as 11-7 in SEC play. Tennessee would make their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago, where the Volunteers would reach the Sweet 16.
Ranking No. 3 nationally with an average of 57.9 PPG allowed to opponents, while also averaging 70.8 PPG themselves, Tennessee is tasked with replacing multiple prominent names off of their roster from a year ago, headlined by a double-digit scorer in Olivier Nkamhoua at 10.8 PPG and 5 RPG. Also included in that group are the likes of Tyreke Key, Julian Phillips, and Uros Plavsic.
Returning for Tennessee however are three double-digit scorers in Santiago Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler, and Josiah-Jordan James, along with multiple others that include Jonas Aidoo, Jahmai Maschack, and Tobe Awaka. Alongside that group are a few new additions that include Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht, South Carolina Update transfer Jordan Gainey, and four-star freshmen Cameron Carr and JP Estrella, among others.
Tennessee will open the 2023-24 season November 6 at home against Tennessee Tech.