Florida basketball wrapped up the 2024 portion of the schedule with a perfect 13 wins in as many tries, marking the program’s best start since the 2005-06 national championship season. Next up is the Southeastern Conference slate, which will be the true test for this Gators squad.
The national rankings have been kind to the Orange and Blue thus far, with the USA TODAY Coaches Poll putting the team at No. 5 while the Associated Press Poll has them a spot behind at No. 6; the NET rankings have Todd Golden’s gang all the way up at No. 4.
Last Friday, CBS Sports writer Kyle Boone published his college basketball power rankings and put Florida in third place, behind the Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers, respectively. In his update on Thursday, he moved the Iowa State Cyclones up to No. 3 while dropping the Gators to No. 4.
“We’re about to see just how real Florida’s undefeated run in nonconference really is,” Boone points out. “The SEC looks like a gauntlet this season, and Florida’s schedule the next few weeks looks brutal. For now, though, the Gators have an unblemished record and looked very good in the process.”
Boone’s colleague at CBS Sports Gary Parrish moved Florida up a spot from No. 7 to No. 6 in his Top 25 and 1 rankings on the same day.
CBS Sports Power Rankings Explained
“Ranking teams with an emphasis on recent performance based on their level of competition. These are heavily unscientific in nature and can be distilled down to a “vibes” ranking — with things like margin of victory, injuries, performance vs. top competition, momentum and other sometimes subjective factors weighing into the equation.
“The power rankings can be thought of in a weekly setting as a reaction — or sometimes even an overreaction — to the small sample of the week that was.”
Next up for Florida
The Gators open up the SEC schedule against Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 4, inside Rupp Arena. Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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