Tag: BPI

Gators inch up Basketball Power Index rankings after beating ‘Bama

Florida is (just barely) a top 25 team in ESPN’s BPI rankings.

Todd Golden’s Gators played their hearts out on Senior Night inside the O’Connell Center with a 105-87 thrashing of the Alabama Crimson Tide — owner of the top offensive efficiency in the nation coming into the game. Florida’s big win in its penultimate game of the regular season was a fitting way to begin wrapping up a fantastic second half.

In ESPN’s latest Basketball Power Index update following the victory, the Orange and Blue rose two spots since our previous update, now sitting at No. 27 overall; that nestles them between the No. 24 Texas Longhorns and No. 26 Dayton Flyers. It also represents a one-spot from Tuesday’s pregame rankings.

Florida’s BPI rating — a measurement of a team’s true strength moving forward — fell 0.4 points to 12.0 since the last update. The offensive BPI rose 0.3 points to 8.6 while the defensive BPI inched up 0.1 points to 3.4.

The win-loss projection rose to 21.9-9.1 as did the prediction for the conference schedule, which also rose to 11.9-6.1. ESPN gives Florida less than a 0.1% chance to win the Southeastern Conference while the remaining strength of schedule ranks at No. 140.

Florida wraps up its regular-season schedule on Saturday, March 9, in Nashville as the Gators travel for a rematch with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tipoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

ESPN’s BPI says Florida is an underdog at home vs. Alabama

Florida gets its shot at revenge against Alabama Tuesday, but the Gators are underdogs at home, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

After another second-half collapse and loss to South Carolina, Florida basketball faces a massive test at home in the penultimate game of the regular season against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Using the Basketball Power Index, ESPN gives the Crimson Tide a 62.3%  win probability against the Gators and projects them to come out on top by only 3.7 points over the Gators on Tuesday. The matchup quality earned a 91.6-point grade, making it the second-highest-rated game on the daily slate.

“BPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,” the site reads. “BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is… Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.”

The game will be of the Quadrant 1 variety for Florida, which enters the matchup ranked No. 33 in the NET, while Alabama is also playing a Quad 1 game ranked No. 7 coming in.

Florida and Alabama will clash on Tuesday, March 5 at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida up a spot in Basketball Power Index after road loss

The Gators remain buoyant in ESPN’s BPI rankings.

Florida basketball is currently putting the finishing touches on a fine regular-season schedule, but unfortunately, hit a roadblock on Saturday afternoon in Columbia where the South Carolina Gamecocks mounted a second-half comeback to emerge with the 82-76 victory over the Gators.

In ESPN’s latest Basketball Power Index update following the loss, the Orange and Blue rose a spot since our previous update, now sitting at No. 27 overall; that nestles them between the No. 26 TCU Horned Frogs and No. 28 Dayton Flyers. However, it also represents a two-spot drop from Saturday’s pregame rankings.

Florida’s BPI rating — a measurement of a team’s true strength moving forward — fell 0.1 points to 11.6 since the last update. The offensive BPI rose 0.1 points to 8.3 while the defensive BPI fell 0.2 points to 3.3.

The win-loss projection fell to 21.3-9.7 as did the prediction for the conference schedule, which fell to 11.3-6.8. ESPN gives Florida less than a 0.1% chance to win the Southeastern Conference while the remaining strength of schedule ranks at No. 63.

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.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators-Gamecocks essentially even in ESPN’s BPI prediction

The Basketball Power Index is ostensibly dead even on Saturday afternoon’s matchup.

Three games remain for Florida basketball, with the first coming this Saturday at the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia as the Gators look to continue improving its postseason standing.

Using the Basketball Power Index, ESPN gives the Gamecocks just a 50.3% win probability and projects them to come out on top by only 0.1 points over the Gators on Saturday. The matchup quality earned a 92.1-point grade, making it the fourth-highest-rated game on a busy day of college basketball.

“BPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,” the site reads. “BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is… Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.”

The game will be of the Quadrant 1 variety for Florida, which enters the matchup ranked No. 34 in the NET, while South Carolina is playing a Quad 2 game ranked No. 47 coming in.

The Gators and South Carolina are set to tangle on Saturday, March 2 in the clash of two SEC titans. Tipoff is scheduled for noon ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators slide after win but still in Basketball Power Index top 30

The win over Mizzou did not impress the ESPN’s BPI.

Florida basketball has now won nine of its last 11 games — all in Southeastern Conference play — to improve to 20-8 overall and 10-5 against SEC competition. That streak of success started on the road at the Missouri Tigers in January and just came full circle with the Gators’ Wednesday night win inside the O’Connell Center.

In ESPN’s latest Basketball Power Index update following the win, the Orange and Blue fell three spots since our previous update, now sitting at No. 28 overall; that nestles them between the No. 27 Dayton Flyers and No. 29 Florida Atlantic Owls.

Florida’s BPI rating — a measurement of a team’s true strength moving forward — fell 0.1 points to 11.7 since the last update. The offensive BPI remained at 8.2 while the defensive BPI rose 0.1 points to 3.5.

The win-loss projection improved ever-so-slightly to 21.8-9.2 along with an 11.8-6.2 prediction for the conference schedule. ESPN gives Florida a distant 0.4% chance to win the Southeastern Conference while the remaining strength of schedule ranks at No. 41.

Florida hits the road to take on the No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, March 2 in the first of the final three games of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for noon ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators slip a spot after Vanderbilt win in Basketball Power Index

Florida slips a spot in ESPN’s BPI but are still among the top 25.

Todd Golden and the Florida basketball team returned on the winning track Saturday afternoon in Gainesville with a 77-64 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Now winners of eight of the last 10, the Gators are making a strong push for a postseason bid with just a handful of games remaining.

In ESPN’s latest Basketball Power Index update following the win, the Orange and Blue fell a spot since our previous update, now sitting at No. 25 overall; that nestles them between the No. 24 TCU Horned Frogs and No. 26 Dayton Flyers.

Florida’s BPI rating — a measurement of a team’s true strength moving forward — fell 0.1 points to 11.8. The offensive BPI fell 0.4 points to 8.2 while the defensive BPI rose 0.2 points to 3.4.

The win-loss projection remained at 21.7-9.3 along with an 11.7-6.3 prediction for the conference schedule. ESPN gives Florida a distant 1.0% chance to win the Southeastern Conference while the remaining strength of schedule ranks at No. 70.

The Gators remain in the O’Connell Center for their next game against the visiting Missouri Tigers, who come to town on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida basketball overwhelmingly favored by BPI over Vanderbilt

It’s not one of the more heralded matchups of the day but it’s one the Gator Nation can look forward to.

Florida basketball has won seven of its last nine and despite its overtime road loss at the Alabama Crimson Tide Wednesday night, the team is still clicking as the season winds down. Next up, the Gators welcome the lowly Vanderbilt Commodores to the O’Connell Center.

Using the Basketball Power Index, ESPN is giving the Florida Gators 97.0% win probability and projects them to come out on top by 22.8 points over the Commodores. The matchup quality earned a 59.6-point grade, putting it at No. 43 among the games being played on Saturday afternoon.

“BPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,” the site reads. “BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is… Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.”

The game will be of the Quadrant 4 variety for Florida, which enters the matchup ranked No. 30 in the NET, while Vandy is playing a Quad 1 game ranked No. 230 coming in.

The Gators host the Commodores inside the O’Connell Center on Saturday, Feb. 25. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators gain ground in BPI rankings despite OT loss at Alabama

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index responded positively to Florida’s overtime effort on Wednesday night.

Florida basketball nearly earned its fourth win in a row and third signature victory of the 2023-24 campaign on Wednesday night against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, but was outlasted in overtime by the home team by a final score of 98-93.

In ESPN’s latest Basketball Power Index update following the loss, the Orange and Blue rose two spots since our previous update, now sitting at No. 24 overall; that nestles them between the No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats and No. 25 Texas Longhorns.

Florida’s BPI rating — a measurement of a team’s true strength moving forward — rose 0.2 points to 11.9. The offensive BPI increased 0.1 points to 8.6 while the defensive BPI rose 0.2 points to 3.4.

The win-loss projection slightly slipped to 21.7-9.3, with an also slightly reduced 11.7-6.3 prediction for the conference schedule. ESPN gives Florida a distant 0.7% chance to win the Southeastern Conference while the remaining strength of schedule ranks at No. 93.

The Gators return home on Saturday, Feb. 24, to host the Vanderbilt Commodores inside the O’Connell Center. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index has Florida an underdog at Alabama

Florida basketball is trending up, but the Gators will have to handle the Alabama Crimson Tide on the road Wednesday to keep the trend going.

The now-ranked Florida Gators have a major hurdle to get over on Wednesday. The Orange and Blue will travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to face the 13th-ranked Crimson Tide.

Using the College Basketball Power Index, ESPN predicts the winner and margin of every matchup in the country. According to Wednesday’s projections, Florida is an underdog. Alabama has an 86.4% chance to win with an expected 13.4-point margin of victory. The game also earned a matchup quality rating of 81.0, giving it the fifth-highest mark on a day filled with marquee matchups.

“BPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,” the site reads. “BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is… Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.”

The game will be of the Quadrant 1 variety for Florida, which enters the matchup ranked No. 28 in the NET, while Alabama is also playing a Quad 1 game ranked No. 5 coming in.

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Gators inch up in Basketball Power Index rankings after UGA win

Florida is perched right outside the top 25 in the BPI rankings.

The Florida Gators are on a roll, now having won three straight games and seven of its last eight — all against Southeastern Conference opponents — which has resulted in some significant improvements in the objective rankings. The most recent win came on Saturday on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs.

In ESPN’s latest Basketball Power Index update following the victory, the Orange and Blue rose a spot since our previous update, now sitting at No. 26 overall; that nestles them between the No. 25 Texas Tech Red Raiders and No. 27 Florida Atlantic Owls.

Florida’s BPI rating — a measurement of a team’s true strength moving forward — rose 0.2 points to 11.7. The offensive BPI increased 0.3 points to 8.5 while the defensive BPI dropped 0.1 points to 3.2.

The win-loss projection improved to 21.8-9.2, with an also boosted 11.8-6.2 prediction for the conference schedule. ESPN gives Florida a distant 2.9% chance to win the Southeastern Conference while the remaining strength of schedule ranks at No. 62.

Florida travels to Tuscaloosa for its next matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 21, against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.