KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After helping lead the Tennessee men’s basketball team to two victories at the Baha Mar Championship and earning the tournament’s MVP award, Chaz Lanier was honored Monday afternoon as the Lute Olson National Player of the Week.

In his first season on Rocky Top, the fifth-year guard from Nashville, Tenn., averaged 25.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest in the Volunteers’ pair of games in Nassau, Bahamas. He shot 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from long range in the two games, helping the team win the tournament title.

In Thursday’s 64-42 victory over Virginia, in which Tennessee doubled the Cavaliers, 42-21, after the halftime break, Lanier registered 26 points and four rebounds, going 6-of-12 from 3-point range.

He complemented that performance with a 25-point effort on 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc in Tennessee’s dominate 77-62 win over No. 13/14 Baylor, including a remarkable 7-of-8 ledger in the first half. The seven 3-pointers tied for the fifth-most in a game in program history and broke his career high of six, which he matched the prior day.

In the Volunteers’ two games at the Baha Mar Convention Center. Lanier totaled 43 points on 16-of-26 shooting, including an 11-of-16 mark from deep.

Lanier also won the SEC Player of the Week Award following his showing, as announced Monday afternoon by the league office.

The 2025 Lute Olson National Player of the Year award will be announced in April in San Antonio, site of the 2025 men’s NCAA basketball championship.

Lanier and No. 7/6 Tennessee (6-0) return home for a Wednesday matchup versus in-state foe UT Martin at 4 p.m. at Food City Center, live on SEC Network+.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team jumped into the top seven of both major polls this week, as announced Monday afternoon.

Tennessee (6-0) climbed four places in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll to seventh in the country, as well as ascended three places in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll to sixth nationally.

This is the 63rd straight week Tennessee is ranked in the AP Poll, a streak spanning four years and dating to the 2021-22 preseason release. That mark is 26 weeks longer than the previous program high of 37 and is the third-longest active ledger in the nation, behind just Houston (89) and Kansas (68). The only other school at even 45-plus weeks is Arizona (61), while the closest SEC program is Kentucky (25), tied for No. 10 overall and 38 weeks behind.

The Volunteers are in the AP top 15 for the 37th time in the last 40 releases, a figure that extends to Nov. 28, 2022. In addition, this is the fifth consecutive year Tennessee has entered the AP top 10. It has a total of 59 AP top-10 rankings in head coach Rick Barnes‘ 10-year tenure.

Tennessee is coming off a 2-0 week, with both games in Nassau, Bahamas, at the Baha Mar Championship, which it won. It opened the tournament with a 64-42 triumph Thursday over Virginia behind 26 points from fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier. The next day, Lanier scored 25 points, all in the first half, to help the team knock off No. 13/14 Baylor, 77-62, in the final.

In their six outings thus far, the Volunteers have led for 228 minutes and 13 seconds and trailed for only four minutes and 39 seconds. They have held an edge of at least 26 points in each game and have not faced a deficit larger than three.

Tennessee registered 1,116 points in the AP Poll balloting, a 174-point jump from last week and only nine shy of sixth-place Houston. It accumulated 587 points in the Coaches Poll, a 125-point improvement and just six behind fifth-place Iowa State.

The Volunteers are one of eight teams in the top 25 of both polls, joining No. 2/3 Auburn, eighth-ranked Kentucky, ninth-ranked Alabama, No. 18/16 Florida, No. 19/21 Arkansas, No. 20 Texas A&M and No. 23/24 Ole Miss. Additionally, Mississippi State is No. 25 in the AP Poll and third in the receiving votes section of the Coaches Poll.

Beyond that, Texas is in the top three of the receiving votes category on each list, while Georgia also received votes in both polls. Vanderbilt garnered points in the AP Poll, while LSU did so in the Coaches Poll. In total, 13 of the SEC’s 16 teams earned votes in at least one poll, with nine ranked in either or both.

Tennessee wraps up the first month of the season Wednesday at 4 p.m. when it squares off with UT Martin, live on SEC Network+ from Food City Center.

To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.