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College basketball rankings: Tennessee upset loss results in drastic changes to CBS Sports top 25 and 1

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College basketball rankings: Tennessee upset loss results in drastic changes to CBS Sports top 25 and 1


There are no more teams in the AP Top 25 who are undefeated after No. 1 Tennessee‘s shocking 73-43 loss to No. 8 Florida on the road on Tuesday night.

The SEC has provided no shortage of action across the first two games of conference play, either. No. 6 Kentucky, who defeated Florida in the conference opener, was upset by unranked Georgia on the road as well.

Tuesday also featured No. 21 West Virginia losing to Arizona, a dominant performance by No. 4 Duke over Pitt, a ranked matchup that saw No. 24 Michigan defeat No. 22 UCLA by 19 points on the road and more.

As usual, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish adjusted his college basketball Top 25 and 1 rankings accordingly. The fallout from the mid-week slate now includes a new team at No. 1.

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Johni Broome scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds during Auburn’s 87-82 win over Texas in Austin on Tuesday. The win not only helped them secure the top spot in the updated rankings, but it was also the win that earned Bruce Pearl the school record for career wins.

The only blemish on the Tigers’ record remains against the Duke Blue Devils on the road during the first week of December. They’re off to a hot start in SEC play, too, and look to continue that trend against South Carolina on the road on Saturday.

© Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa State has won its last 10 games dating back to mid-November — an 83-81 loss to Auburn. The Cyclones have won all but two of their 13 wins decided by 10 or more points, and are outscoring their Big 12 opponents by 17.3 points through three games.

Curtis Jones leads the charge with 16.6 points per game, but T.J. Otzelberger has five players scoring in double figures and another that averages 9.6. In their most recent matchup, an 82-59 win over Utah, saw Jones and Tamin Lipsey combine for 43 points during the contest.

Duke is playing its best basketball of the season to start ACC play, and are riding a nine-game winning streak after defeating Pitt 76-47 on Tuesday. Cooper Flagg scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half to help the Blue Devils outscore the Pantheres 42-23 during the final 20 minutes.

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They continue to boast the best true freshman class in the country. Teams haven’t figured out the freshman tandom of Flagg and Kon Knueppel, and 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach is an oak tree in the paint.

Florida is 1-1 in SEC play, but might have the most impressive resume in the conference during the first two games. Despite falling to Kentucky in Rupp Arena, the Gators put up 100 on the Wildcats and turned around immediately and beat down the top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers by 30 points.

The Gators have an interesting road test at Arkansas coming up on Saturday. With the SEC’s depth, you can’t count the Razorbacks out but momentum is sure to be on Florida’s side as travel to Fayetteville this weekend.

Alabama basketball team vs. Oklahoma (courtesy UA Athletics)
Alabama basketball team vs. Oklahoma (courtesy UA Athletics)

Alabama is 4-1 against ranked opponents this season and has won its last six games dating back to the Thanksgiving Day loss to Houston. The Crimson Tide had a quiet December after beating North Carolina in Chapel Hill, but tipped off SEC play with a bang against Oklahoma last weekend.

Defeating the previously undefeated Sooners 107-79, six players scored in double figures as Mark Sears led the way with 22 points and 10 assists. Impressively, the Crimson Tide out-rebounded OU 51-26 during the contest.

Shaka Smart has his Golden Eagles atop the Big East standings and 10-0 at home. At 14-2, their two losses have come during true road games that include an 81-70 loss to Iowa State and an eight-point loss to Dayton.

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Marquette has a favorable schedule throughout the rest of the month, which sets up a Feb. 1 showdown against two-time defending national champions, the UConn Huskies.

Tennessee’s 30-point loss to Florida on Tuesday is not indicative of the success Rick Barnes’ squad has enjoyed over the first two months of the regular season. They defeated John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks by 24 points in their previous outing, and have dominant against most of their opposition this year.

Luckily for the Vols, they have an oppportunity to piece together an impressive January with potential wins over Mississippi State, Auburn and Kentucky who are all on their schedule consecutively to end the month. They can also earn their win back on Feb. 1 when they host the Gators in Knoxville.

Mississippi State HC Chris Jans
Junfu Han | USA TODAY NETWORK

Mississippi State hasn’t lost since Nov. 29 and has defeated its first two SEC opponents by 35 points and 12, respectively. They have an opportunity to upset Kentucky this weekend coming off a double-digit loss to Georgia — a matchup which ESPN predicts the Bulldogs of having a 63.2% chance to win.

Star guard Josh Hubbard hasn’t skipped a beat since averaging 17.1 points per game as a true freshman. He’s Missippippi State’s leading scorer again, having scored 20 or more points in six their games this season.

Michigan State’s success this season has come as a surprise compared to some of the teams on this list. They began the season unranked and even suffered two tough losses before December. Tom Izzo’s squad has since won its last seven games and have been climbing the rankings since joining the AP Top 25 in mid-December.

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They won’t face another ranked team until Jan. 19 when they host No. 13 Illinois, but have a tough slate coming up in February against UCLA, Oregon, Purdue, Michigan and a rematch against the Illini.

Kentucky dropped to 0-2 in true road games under first-year head coach Mark Pope following its 82-69 loss to unranked Georgia on Tuesday. They previously lost to Clemson inside Littlejohn Coliseum in December.

The two performances couldn’t have been different coming off the 106-100 win over Florida on Saturday. Kentucky has a chance to stop the road loss narrative before it begins with a tough matchup against a white-hot Mississippi State team in Starkville this weekend.

11. Illinois Fighting Illini
12. Texas A&M Aggies
13. Kansas Jayhawks
14. Oregon Ducks (+1)
15. Purdue Boilermakers (+1)
16. Memphis Tigers (+1)
17. UConn Huskies (+1)
18. Ole Miss Rebels (+1)
19. Michigan Wolverines (+6)
20. UCLA Bruins (-6)
21. Gonzaga Bulldogs (-1)
22. Houston Cougars (-1)
23. Utah State Aggies
24. Oklahoma Sooners
25. Georgia Bulldogs (NR)
26. Wisconsin Badgers



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Tennessee

Ethan Mendoza injured as No. 4 Texas loses to Tennessee, 5-1

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Ethan Mendoza injured as No. 4 Texas loses to Tennessee, 5-1


Things went sideways quickly at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Friday as the No. 4 Texas Longhorns fell into an early hole and never recovered in a 5-1 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers that included another shoulder injury sustained by junior second baseman Ethan Mendoza.

After spending 15 games last year as the designated hitter following a shoulder injury sustained diving for a ground ball, Mendoza left the game in the first inning on a similar play, leaving head coach Jim Schlossnagle without much optimism that the Arizona State transfer will be able to return to action this weekend.

Without Mendoza in the lineup, Texas struggled at the plate against Tennessee ace Tegan Kuhns, who recorded a career-high 15 strikeouts in seven innings. Throwing 113 pitches, Kuhns allowed just four hits and one walk in his scoreless outing as the Horns ultimately struck out 19 times, leaving the bottom of the order without much production — sophomore shortstop Adrian Rodriguez struck out all four times he came to the plate and junior designated hitter Ashton Larson, junior infielder Casey Borba, and freshman center fielder Maddox Monsour all struck out three times apiece.

Junior right fielder Aiden Robbins did have two hits — a double and a solo home run in the eighth inning — but didn’t receive help from the rest of the lineup.

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And sophomore left-hander Dylan Volantis looked human, a rare occurrence in his sterling career in burnt orange and white, allowing RBI doubles in the first and second innings and giving up another second-inning run on a wild pitch. Volantis recovered to throw three scoreless innings before redshirt senior right-hander Cody Howard pitched the final three innings, giving up two runs on two hits.

Texas tries to bounce back on Saturday with first pitch at 5 p.m. Central on SEC Network+.



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Memphis lawmaker renews call for city to secede from Tennessee, form 51st state

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Memphis lawmaker renews call for city to secede from Tennessee, form 51st state


MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – State Rep. Antonio Parkinson says Tennessee’s two blue cities, Memphis and Nashville, should break away and form their own state.

“I don’t think the state of Tennessee deserves a Memphis and Shelby County…or a Nashville, Davidson County,” Parkinson said on Action News 5’s A Better Memphis broadcast Friday.

Parkinson proposed creating a new state called West Tennessee, which would span from the eastern border of Nashville’s Davidson County to the Mississippi River.

“I’m not just talking about Memphis, I’m talking about the eastern border of Nashville, Davidson County and everything to the Mississippi River to create a new state called the new state of West Tennessee, the 51st state, West Tennessee,” Parkinson said.

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Proposal follows new congressional map

Parkinson’s secession pitch follows the GOP supermajority approving a new congressional map Thursday that splits Shelby County into three districts, dismantling what was the state’s only majority-Black district.

“So this is about accountability. We’re paying all of this money, yet you remove our voice, so that is taxation without self-determination, taxation without actual representation,” Parkinson said.

Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton denies race was a factor when Republicans redrew the map.

“Look, at the end of the day we were able to draw a map based on population and based on politics, we did not use any racial data,” Sexton told Action News 5.

Sexton said Democrats did the same thing in the 1990s when they split Shelby County into three different congressional districts.

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Secession requires state, federal approval

For Memphis to secede, it requires approval from the State of Tennessee and the U.S. Congress.

Parkinson said he’s willing to fight that uphill battle.

“Why should we stay in an abusive relationship where they’ve shown us the pattern over and over and over…where they do not see our value, and do not care about us,” Parkinson said.

This is not the first time Parkinson has suggested Memphis secede from Tennessee. He made the same call in 2018 after the Republican-controlled state legislature punished Memphis, cutting the city’s funding by $250,000, in retaliation for removing two Confederate statutes.

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Signal Mountain lawmaker explains her ‘present’ vote on Tennessee redistricting plan

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Signal Mountain lawmaker explains her ‘present’ vote on Tennessee redistricting plan


A state lawmaker who represents constituents on Signal Mountain is explaining why she chose not to vote yes or no on Tennessee’s controversial redistricting plan.

State Rep. Michele Reneau (R-Signal Mountain) voted “present not voting” as the House approved a new congressional map during a heated special session.

In a statement, Reneau says the decision reflected concerns about both the process and what happened inside the Capitol.

“I had serious concerns about the timing, process, and unintended consequences,” she said.

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Reneau also pointed to the tone of the debate.

She said she did not want her vote to be seen as supporting “the messaging, tactics, or behavior being used by protesters throughout this week.”

Rep. Greg Vital of Hamilton County also voted ‘present.’

We have reached out to his office several times. We will share his explanation in this story if and when we hear back.

The redistricting plan, which has now passed both chambers and is headed to the governor’s desk, reshapes districts across the state, including breaking up the Memphis-based district.

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The vote came amid protests, demonstrations and intense debate at the State Capitol.

Reneau says her vote was not about avoiding the issue.

“My vote was not a refusal to take the issue seriously,” she said. “It was a deliberate vote reflecting the complexity of the issue.”

The plan has sparked strong reactions across Tennessee.

Some Democrats have filed legal challenges to block the new map before the next election.

Others have raised concerns about representation, while some lawmakers have floated broader ideas, including changes to how regions are governed.

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