The opening month of the 2021-22 college basketball season saw the Florida Gators put up a perfect 6-0 record to earn a place among the top 25 schools in both major polls. However, since the beginning of December, UF has struggled to maintain its intensity, dropping three of its four games so far, including a Quadrant 4 loss to the previously winless Texas Southern Tigers.
As a result of Sunday night’s loss to the Maryland Terrapins, who earned their interim coach Danny Manning his first win at the helm of the program, Florida basketball finds itself outside of the latest USA TODAY Sports Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll. Previously ranked No. 16 last week, Florida tumbled to an unranked status, collecting just 17 total votes.
Meanwhile, the SEC still has a strong presence in the poll, led by the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 8, followed by the Auburn Tigers at No. 14, then the quartet of the Tennessee Volunteers, Arkansas Razorbacks, LSU Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats at No. 18 through No. 21, respectively. No other conference team received any votes.
Here’s the full coaches poll for this week.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Baylor | 9-1 | 797 | +1 |
| 2 | Duke | 7-1 | 747 | +1 |
| 3 | UCLA | 9-1 | 679 | +1 |
| 4 | Purdue | 9-1 | 663 | -3 |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 8-2 | 663 | +1 |
| 6 | Arizona | 9-0 | 658 | +2 |
| 7 | Kansas | 8-1 | 613 | – |
| 8 | Alabama | 8-1 | 612 | +1 |
| 9 | USC | 10-0 | 443 | +6 |
| 10 | Villanova | 7-3 | 415 | -4 |
| 11 | Iowa St | 10-0 | 398 | +8 |
| 12 | Michigan St | 9-2 | 376 | +8 |
| 13 | Houston | 8-2 | 369 | – |
| 14 | Auburn | 8-1 | 345 | +7 |
| 15 | Ohio St | 8-2 | 338 | +7 |
| 16 | Seton Hall | 9-1 | 337 | +9 |
| 17 | Texas | 6-2 | 255 | -6 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 7-2 | 250 | -4 |
| 19 | Arkansas | 9-1 | 203 | -9 |
| 20 | LSU | 9-0 | 184 | +4 |
| 21 | Kentucky | 7-2 | 182 | -9 |
| 22 | UConn | 9-2 | 181 | -4 |
| 23 | Colorado St | 10-0 | 153 | +3 |
| 24 | Texas Tech | 7-1 | 123 | +5 |
| 25 | Xavier | 9-1 | 117 | +5 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 16 Florida; No. 17 Wisconsin; No. 23 Brigham Young.
Others Receiving Votes
Wisconsin 110; Providence 41; San Francisco 36; North Carolina 31; Florida 17; Oklahoma 13; St. Bonaventure 11; Loyola-Chicago 10; Brigham Young 9; Minnesota 7; Illinois 6; West Virginia 5; Saint Mary’s 2; Weber St. 1.
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