Todd Golden and the Florida Gators are off to a strong start to the 2024-25 college basketball campaign, earning wins over the South Florida Bulls and Jacksonville Dolphins, respectively, in the opening week.
While there is still a long way to go during the regular season, those two victories already represent a better opening salvo for the hoops program after going 1-1 last fall en route to a rough November. Fortunately, the Orange and Blue found another gear in the second half, propelling it to the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament.
As a result of their efforts, the Gators saw a one-spot improvement from the preseason standings in the Associated Press Poll following Week 1, moving up to No. 20. That puts Florida between the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats and No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Week 1 AP Top 25 Poll
| Rank | Team | REC | PTS | TREND |
| 1 | Kansas (44) | 2-0 | 1525 | – |
| 2 | Alabama (6) | 2-0 | 1439 | – |
| 3 | UConn (7) | 2-0 | 1398 | – |
| 4 | Gonzaga (3) | 2-0 | 1371 | +2 |
| 5 | Auburn (2) | 2-0 | 1315 | +6 |
| 6 | Duke | 2-0 | 1222 | +1 |
| 7 | Iowa State | 1-0 | 1206 | -2 |
| 8 | Houston | 1-1 | 1070 | -4 |
| 9 | Arizona | 2-0 | 1004 | +1 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 1-1 | 992 | -1 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 2-0 | 930 | +1 |
| 12 | Baylor | 1-1 | 806 | -4 |
| 13 | Purdue | 2-0 | 795 | +1 |
| 14 | Creighton | 2-0 | 752 | +1 |
| 15 | Marquette | 2-0 | 603 | +3 |
| 16 | Indiana | 2-0 | 600 | +1 |
| 17 | Cincinnati | 2-0 | 454 | +3 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 1-1 | 357 | -2 |
| 19 | Kentucky | 2-0 | 353 | +4 |
| 20 | Florida | 2-0 | 332 | +1 |
| 21 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 273 | +5 |
| 22 | St. John’s | 2-0 | 178 | +4 |
| 23 | Texas A&M | 1-1 | 169 | -10 |
| 24 | Rutgers | 1-0 | 157 | +1 |
| 25 | Ole Miss | 2-0 | 147 | -1 |
Others receiving votes:
Illinois 144, Texas Tech 102, Wake Forest 84, Xavier 78, Texas 51, Michigan St. 41, BYU 26, Kansas St 24, UCF 20, Mississippi St. 15, New Mexico 15, Oregon 14, North Florida 14, Miami 14, Clemson 13, VCU 12, Memphis 8, Wisconsin 6, Grand Canyon 6, Providence 4, Maryland 3, Austin Peay 2, Arizona St 2, South Dakota St. 1, Michigan 1, Columbia 1, Dayton 1.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.