Florida may have lost to Auburn Wednesday night to kick off its conference schedule, but it didn’t hurt the team in the NCAA NET rankings as much as one might think. In fact, the Gators moved up a spot from No. 65 to No. 64 on Thursday after the loss.
Auburn fell from No. 27 to No. 30 after the win, so it’s hard to argue against this being a “quality loss” for a Florida team in the middle of a rebuild under a new head coach.
Florida still hasn’t secured a win over a Quadrant 1 or 2 opponent yet this year with all six of its losses coming against foes in either quadrant. Conversely, all seven of Florida’s wins have come against Quadrant 3 and 4 opponents. Losing any of those games would be detrimental to Florida’s NCAA Tournament hopes, whereas losing to Quadrant 1 and 2 opponents won’t hurt nearly as much.
The Gators still need to secure a signature win or two to earn a playoff selection, but it arguably played its best game of the year on Wednesday. It seems like only a matter of time until Florida gets that win and jumps up the rankings as a result.
Up next, Florida hosts Texas A&M, which is ranked No. 102 on the NET rankings. That makes the Aggies a Quadrant 3 opponent, so Florida has to get the job done to keep its current standing.
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