UT basketball is on the rise: Men grab No. 1 in AP Top 25, and women reenter rankings after a rare absence.

Tennessee is the new No. 1 in men’s college basketball after a massive shakeup in the Associated Press Top 25.

The Vols received 58 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel Monday to reach No. 1 for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Tennessee climbed two spots from last week after Kansas lost twice and Auburn fell to No. 4 Duke. The Tigers remained No. 2 and received three first-place votes.

No. 3 Iowa State had one first-place vote and climbed three places from last week for its highest ranking since 1956-57. Kentucky rounded out the top five.

In all, 14 ranked teams lost last week, including six teams in the top 10; Kansas and then-No. 11 Wisconsin lost twice. Only two teams — Auburn and No. 12 Oregon — remained in the same poll spots they were a week ago and the volatility saw five teams jump into the rankings.

Tennessee (8-0) is off to its best start since opening the 2000-01 season 9-0 and is No. 1 in the NET rankings. The Vols also are second in the KenPom ratings, ranking second in defensive efficiency and ninth in offensive efficiency despite losing four starters from last year’s SEC championship team. Tennessee beat Syracuse 96-70 in its only game last week.

Meanwhile, the women’s poll

Tennessee’s women’s basketball team has returned to the AP Top 25 at No. 19, ending the school’s longest drought in the 48-year history of the women’s poll.

The Lady Vols (7-0) had not been ranked since Nov. 27, 2023, a span of 22 polls. Since the rankings began in 1976, Tennessee has been in the Top 25 in 779 of 870 total weeks (89.5%).

Tennessee is off to an undefeated start with a pressing style that includes fresh players constantly coming in.

“The beauty of it is is we earned it,” first-year coach Kim Caldwell said in a phone interview. “Not because the name is Tennessee. We didn’t start (ranked).”

UCLA, UConn and South Carolina remained the top three teams in the poll released Monday. The Bruins received 24 first-place votes from the 32-member national media panel. UCLA beat Washington by 11 in its lone game last week. The Huskies garnered the other eight top votes after routing Louisville 85-52 in the Women’s Champions Classic.