With conference play set to begin, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team has everything to prove to the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
After earning votes in back-to-back weeks in November, the Gators fell off the list in December and never found their way back into favor with the voters. The Gators have a chance to prove themselves right away, though.
Florida hosts No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday, and the Gators are even favored by some outlets to pull off the upset. Beating a top-10 program would be huge for Todd Golden and Co. and should get the team back on the national radar. Even a close loss could do the trick.
After that, things don’t get easier for the Gators. Road games against No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 5 Tennessee sandwich a home game against Arkansas, and then there’s a nice three-game stretch (Missouri, Miss. State, Georgia) before a rematch with Kentucky in Lexington to close out the month.
Looking at the rest of the SEC, Auburn has finally broken into the top 25 at No. 23, and Texas A&M is still hanging on to one vote.
A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
| 1 | Purdue | 12-1 | 789 (23) | – |
| 2 | Kansas | 12-1 | 758 (1) | – |
| 3 | Houston | 13-0 | 757 (8) | – |
| 4 | UConn | 11-2 | 674 | +1 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 9-3 | 642 | +2 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 10-2 | 594 | +4 |
| 7 | Marquette | 11-3 | 580 | +1 |
| 8 | Illinois | 10-2 | 527 | +1 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 9-3 | 501 | +1 |
| 10 | Arizona | 10-3 | 495 | -6 |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 12-1 | 426 | +2 |
| 12 | BYU | 12-1 | 421 | – |
| 13 | Duke | 9-3 | 378 | +2 |
| 14 | Colorado State | 12-1 | 359 | – |
| 15 | Memphis | 11-2 | 342 | +3 |
| 16 | Clemson | 11-1 | 338 | +1 |
| 17 | Florida Atlantic | 10-3 | 273 | -11 |
| 18 | Baylor | 10-2 | 265 | +1 |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 13-0 | 198 | +3 |
| 20 | James Madison | 13-0 | 193 | +1 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 9-3 | 172 | +2 |
| 22 | Texas | 11-2 | 167 | +2 |
| 23 | Providence | 11-2 | 130 | +2 |
| 24 | Auburn | 10-2 | 92 | +2 |
| 25 | Gonzaga | 9-4 | 72 | -9 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 20 Creighton;
Others Receiving Votes
Creighton 45; San Diego State 37; Michigan State 26; Utah 25; Colorado 24; Ohio State 19; Iowa State 19; Nevada 15; TCU 14; Grand Canyon 9; Miami (FL) 8; Villanova 5; New Mexico 5; Princeton 2; Nebraska 2; Texas A&M 1; Indiana State 1;
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