The dreaded zone bug struck Florida basketball once again, and like several times before, resulted in the Gators seizing defeat from the jaws of victory. After taking a six-point lead into halftime, Todd Golden’s team faltered down the stretch against the South Carolina Gamecocks, losing 82-76 on the road Saturday.
Following the loss, the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings dropped the Orange and Blue from its No. 28 overall ranking in our previous update to No. 31, putting them between the No. 30 Mississippi State Bulldogs — whom Florida beat in Gainesville earlier this season — and the No. 32 TCU Horned Frogs.
The Pomeroy rankings use adjusted efficiency margin — the difference between adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency — to rank all teams.
Golden’s gang now has a margin of plus-17.63 (down 0.30 points) which means the team is expected to score 17.63 more points than the average opponent. They remain ranked 15th in adjusted offensive efficiency (119.4) but fell six spots in adjusted defensive efficiency, now ranking at 87th (101.8).
KenPom also has Florida’s overall strength of schedule rated at plus-8.75, which is 43rd in the nation; its non-conference schedule rating received a score of plus-1.65 which has the Gators remaining at No. 125.
The Gators return home for a rematch against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Tuesday, March 5, inside the O’Connell Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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