The Gators were favored both by the oddsmakers and the Basketball Power Index predictions heading into both of their first two Southeastern Conference matchups, but alas, Florida fell to both leaving them with an 0-2 record to start the league schedule.
The latest loss came at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels, who throttled the Orange and Blue in Oxford on Wednesday night, 103-85, in a game that got out of hand in the second half after a close opening 20 minutes. The matchup was of the Quadrant 1 variety against and against a top-25 team in the Coaches Poll, plus Todd Golden’s team has struggled away from the O’Connell Center.
As a result of the resounding loss, the Gators fell seven spots to No. 56 overall in the NET rankings, putting them between two teams they have lost to this season — No. 55 Virginia Cavaliers and No. 57 Rebels.
Here’s how the quadrant system breaks things up:
- Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
- Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
- Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
- Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353
Florida now is 0-4 against Quadrant 1 opponents, 3-1 against Quadrant 2 opponents, 2-0 against Quadrant 3 opponents and 5-0 against Quadrant 4 opponents.
Next up for the Gators are the Arkansas Razorbacks, who come to the O’Connell Center on Saturday, Jan. 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 pm ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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