Where should Tennessee be ranked after stunning loss to Florida?

The Tennessee Volunteers started out this week as the No. 2 team in the country. But after a surprising loss to Florida, where should they be next week?

After Alabama lost last week in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the Tennessee Volunteers became the highest-ranked team in the SEC, ranked No. 2 overall in the latest AP poll. On a four-game win streak and in position to get a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Vols took on a desperate Florida Gators squad that was outside of the projected field of 68 brackets and needed a huge win.

With a defense playing at the highest of levels, Tennessee should be able to beat a team that at times, struggles offensively. However, the Vols were the ones that couldn’t score, with just eight points in the first 11 minutes. They were able to keep the Gators within reach and made a big second-half run to take a 44-40 lead with 10 minutes left.

But Florida held steady and had a counterpunch of its own, going on a 27-10 run to win the game, 67-54. Colin Castleton led all scorers with 20 points and nine rebounds for the Gators, while Kyle Lofton had 14 points and four assists. Zakei Zeigler had 15 points to lead the Vols but as a team, shot a season-low 28% shooting from the field and 5/25 from three-point range.

How far should this loss punish Tennessee in the next AP rankings?

Already this week, six other ranked programs have lost in No. 7 Kansas State, No. 11 Baylor, No. 13 Iowa State, No. 17 Providence, No. 21 Indiana, and No. 22 San Diego State. But at No. 2, the Vols aren’t likely to fall much. They’ll certainly fall lower than Kansas, who’ll benefit from the win over the Wildcats.

It’s still early in the week and we have a massive Saturday slate that has a number of ranked programs in tough battles. That includes Tennessee, who’ll host Auburn. It’s an important game for them and if they lose that one, expected them to drop around 15. For now, expect the Vols to drop outside the top 5 of the next AP rankings.