College basketball rankings: Florida Gators move up another spot inside top 10 of AP Top 25
Image Credit: Bryce Mitchell, UAA
Florida Gators basketball has started 12-0 in Year 3 under head coach Todd Golden for the first time in nearly two decades, except this season, it has won all but one of those games by double digits. Expectations have therefore been raised as this extremely talented roster has started the season hotter than any version of this team since the first that won a national championship.
The Gators reached another high mark on Monday when the latest college basketball rankings were announced. Florida moved up an additional spot to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and an additional spot to No. 5 in the Coaches Poll. This as UF opened the campaign ranked in the preseason polls for the first time since 2019-20.
Fueling the rise of Florida was a hard-fought 90-84 win over North Carolina at the 2024 Jumpman Invitational followed by a thorough 99-45 trouncing of North Florida, the largest victory UF has achieved in 17 years. The 2024-25 squad was the first in program history to win 10 straight games by double digits to start a season.
Florida is now listed at No.45 in the NET Rankings, up another spot from last week. The NCAA Selection Committee uses those rankings — which largely evaluate quality of wins and losses — as part of their process in choosing the NCAA Tournament field.
The Gators close out nonconference play Sunday when it hosts Stetson.
Florida is set to play the top two teams, three of the top five and four of the top 10 teams in this week’s rankings — a total of six times — over the remainder of the season along with eight of the top 23 teams overall.
AP Top 25 — Dec. 23
1. Tennessee (41)
2. Auburn (21)
3. Iowa State
4. Duke
5. Alabama
6. Florida
7. Kansas
8. Marquette
9. Oregon
10. Kentucky
11. UConn
12. Oklahoma
13. Texas A&M
14. Gonzaga
15. Houston
16. Ole Miss
17. Cincinnati
18. Michigan State
19. Mississippi State
20. San Diego State
21. Purdue
22. UCLA
23. Arkansas
24. Illinois
25. Baylor
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