Florida basketball moves into AP Top 15 after starting 6-0

Florida didn’t get a single vote in the preseason AP Poll, but the Gators are ranked in the top 15 going into Week 4.

A 6-0 start by Florida has the Gators ranked No. 14 in the AP Top 25 Poll heading into Week 4 of the college basketball season.

Wins over Cal and Ohio State at the Fort Myers Tip-Off before Thanksgiving and a 39-point blowout against Troy helped Florida move up nine spots and past No. 16 Alabama. Before the season started, the Gators had no votes in the AP Poll and were expected to finish somewhere between sixth and eighth in the conference.

Tennessee sits one spot ahead of Florida this week at No. 13, and Kentucky and Arkansas control the No. 9 and 10 spots, respectively. Auburn rounds out the list of ranked SEC teams at No. 21, and LSU is just the third team out of the top 25 after starting undefeated as well.

Florida beat some quality teams in November, but none of them will start December ranked. Conference play will be the most challenging part of Florida’s season, but the Gators have to it one week at a time until then.

The Gators only face Oklahoma on the road in the coming week. The Sooners already took care of one Florida team this season (a 65-62 win over UCF) and are looking to get some poll votes of their own after a 6-1 start.

Here is the full top 25 in the AP Poll this week.

AP Top 25 Poll – Week 3

Rank Team Record Points
1 Duke 4-0 1,513 (51)
2 Purdue 4-0 1,442 (9)
3 Gonzaga 6-1 1,428 (1)
4 Baylor 7-0 1,324
5 UCLA 6-1 1,253
6 Villanova 4-2 1,147
7 Texas 4-1 1,115
8 Kansas 5-1 1,027
9 Kentucky 5-1 1,002
10 Arkansas 6-0 960
11 Arizona 6-0 851
12  BYU 6-0 791
13 Tennesse 4-1 730
14 Florida 6-0 681
15 Houston 5-1 631
16 Alabama 6-1 456
17 Connecticut 6-1 437
18 Memphis 5-1 435
19 Iowa State 6-0 403
20 USC 6-0 380
21 Auburn 5-1 325
22 Michigan St. 5-2 295
23 Wisconsin 5-1 224
24 Michigan 4-2 177
25 Seton Hall 5-1 151

Schools Dropped Out

No. 14 Illinois; No. 16 St. Bonaventure; No. 25 Xavier.

Others Receiving Votes

Illinois 111, St. Bonaventure 106, LSU 93, Ohio St. 75, Indiana 63, Colorado St. 59, Xavier 46, Texas Tech 34, Marquette 23, North Carolina 9, Iowa 9, San Francisco 7, Loyola Chicago 3, Virginia Tech 3, Louisville 2, Wake Forest 2, Ohio 1, Iona 1.

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