Todd Golden’s Gators got revenge for a Southeastern Conference schedule-opening loss at home against the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday night, earning a 94-91 overtime victory in Rupp Arena for the first time since 2003. Florida fought mightily throughout to earn its first Quadrant 1 win.
In ESPN’s latest Basketball Power Index update following the victory, Todd Golden’s team gained three spots from our last update to No. 28 overall, now sitting between the No. 27 Texas Tech Red Raiders and No. 29 Clemson Tigers.
Florida’s BPI rating — a measurement of a team’s true strength moving forward — rose 0.2 points to 10.7. The offensive BPI moved up 0.1 points to 7.9 while the defensive BPI rose 0.3 points to 2.9.
The win-loss projection slightly improved to 20.8-10.2, with an also slightly better 10.8-7.2 prediction for the conference schedule. ESPN gives Florida less than an improved but still distant 1.7% chance to win the Southeastern Conference while the remaining strength of schedule ranks at No. 47.
The Gators will travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday, Feb. 3, for the first game of the new month. The matchup is set to tip off at 4 p.m. ET and can be watched on ESPN2.
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