Florida basketball is off to a torrid start to the 2024-25 campaign having won its first dozen games — and nearly all of them coming in convincing style. As a result, the Gators have climbed up the polls and rankings into the upper echelon of the sport this season.
Todd Golden’s gang cracked the top five in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll this week coming in right at No. 5 while sliding up to sixth in the Associated Press Poll; CBS Sports rankings were a little less bullish, putting the Orange and Blue at No. 7 in its tally.
Then there are ESPN’s weekly power rankings put together by Jeff Borzello, which moved Florida up two spots from No. 7 to No. 5 after the Christmas holiday. Despite all the success so far, he still feels like there is one major item missing from the Gators’ résumé: a marquee win.
“Florida is one of just four unbeaten teams left in college basketball, but the Gators have yet to notch a signature win to put them into the top tier of teams this season,” Borzello points out. “Of their 12 wins this season, the best one is over North Carolina, and the Gators needed a late surge to win that one. Fortunately, the best league in the history of the sport offers plenty of opportunities.”
That opportunity will come on Jan. 4 when the Gators travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats.
SEC teams in ESPN’s power rankings
The conference is represented by nine schools among the top 16 teams in the rankings, headlined by the Auburn Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. The Alabama Crimson Tide checked in at No. 5, followed by Florida (No. 6) and Kentucky (No. 8) among the top 10.
The Texas A&M Aggies logged in at No. 11 while the Ole Mis Rebels came in at No. 13, followed by the Oklahoma Sooners and Mississippi State Bulldogs at Nos. 15 and 16, respectively.
Next up for Florida
The Gators will host the Stetson Hatters inside the O’Connell Center on Sunday, Dec. 29. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida cracks top 5 in ESPN’s basketball power rankings
