KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — For just the second time in program history, Tennessee men's basketball is the number one team in the country.
Tennessee was voted the new No. 1 in this week's AP Poll, which was released on Monday afternoon.
UT moved into the top spot after beating Arkansas 106-87 on Tuesday night and holding off against Alabama on Saturday, 71-68.
The Vols sit at 16-1, 5-0 in SEC play this season.
Former No. 1 Duke fell after losing to unranked Syracuse at home last week. Former No. 2 Michigan dropped a road game to Wisconsin on Saturday.
Tennessee received 48 of 64 first-place votes from a media panel in the poll released Monday, well ahead of No. 2 Duke with 11. No. 3 Virginia received three first-place votes and No. 6 Michigan State two. Gonzaga and Michigan rounded out the top five.
"The guys playing right now built this thing," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said.
Tennessee has only been No. 1 once before in program history: the week of February 25, 2008. Former head coach Bruce Pearl led UT to a win on the road over then No. 1 Memphis to push the Vols into the top spot. Tennessee followed up the vote of confidence with a loss on the road to Vanderbilt.
Hidden in the No. 1 spot is the consistency of this Tennessee team. The Vols have been in the AP Top 25 for 27 consecutive weeks, now the third longest streak in program history.
Expectations followed the Vols into the 2018-19 season. With its top six scorers back from a team that shared the SEC title, Tennessee had its highest preseason ranking at No. 6 and was eyeing a deep NCAA Tournament run in Barnes' fourth season.
The Vols have lived up to the forecast so far, bouncing back from an overtime loss to then-No. 2 Kansas to win 12 straight games. Tennessee knocked Gonzaga from atop the AP Top 25 with Barnes' first win over a No. 1 team in early December and won its two games last week, rolling over Arkansas and holding off Alabama .
The only other time Tennessee (16-1, 5-0) was No. 1, it lost the next night to Vanderbilt — the Vols' opponent on Wednesday.
"Tennessee basketball hasn't been ranked No. 1 in a long time," Vols guard Jordan Bone said. "That's a good feeling, but we can't be so locked in on that. We have to continue to stay hungry. We can't be so focused on that. It's so fleeting. It can change really quick."