Gators hoops stays at No. 6 in final AP Top 25 Poll of 2024

Florida basketball remains at No. 6 in the final AP Top 25 Poll of the calendar year.

The Gators improved to the season-high placement a week ago, and a 13th-straight victory has the Orange and Blue holding steady as conference play approaches. With only two losses across the entire top 25 over the past week, the list saw very few changes. The top 14 remain the same, and only three programs moved more than two places either way.

UCLA is the big winner, jumping seven spots to No. 15 and essentially swapping places with now-No. 24 Ole Miss, which dropped eight spots. Gonzaga is the other big move, falling five spots to No. 19 this week.

Florida remains solidly ahead of No. 7 Kansas by 118 poll points and trails No. 5 Alabama by just 36 points. The Gators kick off conference play with three straight matchups against ranked opponents — at No. 10 Kentucky on Jan. 4, vs. No. 1 Tennessee on Jan. 7, and at No. 23 Arkansas on Jan. 11.

A matchup with the Crimson Tide won’t come until March 5, but Florida heads to No. 2 Auburn on Feb. 8.

SEC Teams ranked inside the AP Top 25

Ten of the 16 programs in the Southeastern Conference finished inside the top 25 following Week 8, the same as last week. The Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers remain on top of the college basketball world, with Alabama, Florida and the Kentucky Wildcats also inside the top 10.

The Oklahoma Sooners (No. 12) and Texas A&M Aggies (No. 13) are just outside the top 10. The Mississippi State Bulldogs (No. 17) are also well inside the top 25, with the Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 23) and Ole Miss Rebels (No. 24) near the bottom of the rankings.

The Georgia Bulldogs (48) and Missouri Tigers (19) also earned votes in the poll this week.

Week 8 AP Top 25 Poll

Ranking	Team	Record	Points	Change
1	Tennessee	12-0	1,504 (41)	–
2	Auburn	11-1	1,481 (20)	–
3	Iowa State	10-1	1,392	–
4	Duke	10-2	1,321	–
5	Alabama	11-2	1,238	–
6	Florida	13-0	1,202	–
7	Kansas	9-2	1,084	–
8	Marquette	11-2	1,037	–
9	Oregon	12-1	979	–
10	Kentucky	10-2	958	–
11	UConn	10-3	904	–
12	Oklahoma	13-0	863	–
13	Texas A&M	11-2	812	–
14	Houston	8-3	626	+1
15	UCLA	11-2	571	+7
16	Cincinnati	10-1	551	+1
17	Mississippi State	11-1	483	+2
18	Michigan State	10-2	473	–
19	Gonzaga	9-4	383	-5
20	Purdue	8-3	281	+1
21	Memphis	10-3	213	–
22	Illinois	9-3	193	+2
23	Arkansas	11-2	174	–
24	Ole Miss	7-3	165	-8
25	Baylor	8-3	139	–

Others receiving votes:

Maryland 133, Drake 100, St. John’s 98, Dayton 90, Michigan 65, Utah St. 59, Georgia 48, Pittsburgh 35, West Virginia 30, San Diego St. 28, Ohio St. 19, Missouri 19, North Carolina 19, Arizona St 13, Indiana 11, Texas Tech 8, Clemson 8, Wisconsin 7, Penn St. 5, St. Bonaventure 2, Nebraska 1.