NCAA Basketball: Duke, Michigan State fall in latest top 25 power ranking

7. Tennessee (2-0)

With several pieces back, most notably Santiago Vescovi, the Volunteers are looking to build on last season’s success, having upend Duke on their way to the Sweet Sixteen. Tennessee looks like one of the strongest teams in a deep USC, but what exactly does Rick Barnes’ team have in them for this upcoming year?

Their brilliant defense was on full display on opening night, delivering in an 80-42 win against Tennessee Tech. Transfer Dalton Knecht led the charge with 17 points, starting to establish himself as a key piece of the Volunteers’ offense. Their Friday test was much trickier but ended with another win. Tennessee headed to Wisconsin and got a true road win 80-70 over the Badgers. Knecht’s talent was on full display again with 24 points and 5 rebounds for the Volunteers.

While Tennessee boasted one of the nation’s best defenses last season, the offense regularly let them down. Adding Knecht, a former star at Northern Colorado, has already paid dividends on the offensive side. How he and the rest of this roster continues to play on both sides of the ball will be interesting to watch. Next week features a pretty simple home game against Wofford, though the tougher games are coming very soon.