Florida basketball cracks AP Poll top 25 for first time this season

After months of being merely an afterthought UF has forced its way into the national conversation after a pair of signature wins in SEC play

The latest Associated Press Poll for Week 11 of the 2020-21 basketball campaign was released on Monday and the Florida Gators finally cracked the top 25 for the first time in their current campaign. After months of being merely an afterthought, UF has forced its way into the national conversation after a pair of big wins these past couple of weeks.

Most recently, the Gators upset the then-No. 11 West Virginia Mountaineers on the road in their SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup on Saturday, an exclamation point on their previous win over the then-No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers a week earlier. The voters are clearly happy with Florida’s recent play, as the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll released its rankings with UF claiming its highest spot of the season at No. 23.

The AP Poll is actually slightly more bullish on the Orange and Blue, ranking the Gators for the first time this season in its top 25 at No. 22. Florida has won four in a row dating back to the Vols victory and five of its last six,  while managing a tidy 10-4 overall record with a solid 6-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play.

Here is a look at the rest of the top 25 along with the others also receiving votes.

Rk Team Rec Pts Prv
1 Gonzaga (61) 17-0 1,597 1
2 Baylor (3) 16-0 1,539 2
3 Villanova 11-1 1,458 3
4 Michigan 13-1 1,402 4
5 Houston 15-1 1,348 6
6 Texas 11-3 1,228 5
7 Ohio State 14-4 1,133 13
8 Iowa 12-4 1,079 7
9 Oklahoma 11-4 966 24
10 Alabama 14-4 958 9
11 Tennessee 12-3 869 18
12 Illinois 11-5 850 19
13 Texas Tech 12-5 797 10
14 Virginia 11-3 752 8
15 Creighton 13-4 732 17
16 Virginia Tech 13-3 718 20
17 West Virginia 11-5 669 11
18 Missouri 11-3 589 12
19 Wisconsin 13-5 452 14
20 Florida State 10-3 393 16
21 UCLA 13-3 260 23
22 Florida 10-4 196 NR
23 Kansas 11-6 171 15
24 Purdue 12-6 130 NR
25 Drake 16-0 117 NR

Others receiving votes:

Boise State 108, Drake 75, Colorado 59, USC 50, Oklahoma State 49, Oregon 49, Florida 37, Connecticut 20, Winthrop 16, Xavier 14, Loyola Chicago 12, BYU 11, Purdue 11, Belmont 9, Clemson 8, St. Bonaventure 6, Toledo 4, Arizona 4

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