It was a blast for Tennessee athletics in 2024. Between an Elite Eight trip that saw Dalton Knecht named SEC Player of the Year, a baseball national championship, and the football team’s run to the school’s first-ever playoffs, things are going great on Rocky Top.

It looks like the basketball team could end the year at the top of the rankings.

The Vols are expected to move up to No. 1 in the polls when they are released Monday after interconferences across the country conclude this week.

Tennessee took care of business on Tuesday night during the SEC/ACC contest – the SEC won in a landslide 14-2 and dominated Syracuse 96-70 at the Food City Center. However, they were the only team in the top five to take care of business this week. Speaking of the SEC/ACC challenge, the only two teams that lost were two of the best teams in the SEC. No. 4 Kentucky fell at Clemson on Tuesday and No. 2 Auburn lost at Duke last night.

Meanwhile, #1 Kansas lost convincingly 76-63 in Creighton in the Big 12/Big East battle. #5 Marquette also lost to #6 Iowa State 81-70 in the same interconference showdown. With the Cyclones already coming off a loss, they certainly won’t be able to overtake Tennessee undefeated.

So the Vols will move up to No. 1 on Monday, and then the question becomes: Where does Tennessee stumble for the first time? The Vols face a tough challenge at No. 19 Illinois on Dec. 14, but beyond that, they should be double-digit favorites every day until SEC play begins shortly after the start of the new year.

Sure, it’s still early, but in any sport it’s always cool to see the number 1 next to your team’s name. Vol fans will soon see that with Rick Barnes’ impressive 2024-25 team.