College basketball season is just around the corner, and fans of both the Vols and Wildcats have reason to be hopeful for the season ahead.
The Tennessee Volunteers are ranked sixth in the preseason AP college basketball poll. It's their highest placement in the AP preseason poll ever. The Volunteers haven't started the season inside the top-10 since the 2009-10 season.
Kentucky ranks second, behind only Kansas.
Gonzaga, Duke, and Virginia rounded out the top 5, with Nevada, North Carolina, Villanova and Michigan State in the top-10.
Tennessee is coming off an SEC regular-season championship, and have been picked to finish second in this year's SEC race. The Vols return 14 players from last year's 26-9 squad, including 2017-18 SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams.
This year's version of the Wildcats have already seen game action, winning all four games during the Big Blue Bahamas Foreign Tour in August. UK is coming off a Sweet 16 season last year, falling to Kansas State in Atlanta.
