Lady Vols basketball moved up in both polls this week after a historic win Saturday.
Tennessee (8-0) is ranked in the top 20 for a second straight week in coach Kim Caldwell’s first season. It’s ranked No. 16 in the USA TODAY coaches poll and No. 18 in the Associated Press poll. The Lady Vols moved up two spots in the USA TODAY poll and one spot in the AP Poll.
Tennessee plays its first true road game against Memphis (2-7) at FedExForum on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPNews).
When the Lady Vols entered the polls last week, it was the first time they were a ranked team in over a year. Tennessee continues to climb in the NCAA NET rankings as well. It moved up to No. 25 in the NET after Saturday’s win.
Tennessee made an NCAA Division I record 30 3-pointers in its win over NC Central on Saturday. Samara Spencer broke the program record with nine made 3-pointers.
There are seven SEC teams ranked in each of the polls, and Tennessee is the sixth-highest ranked SEC team in both.
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Before last week, 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. The Lady Vols entered the polls this season after wins over Florida State and Iowa.
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 No. 16 after 8-0 start under coach Kim Caldwell
