Florida center Jason Jitoboh (33) shoots while defended by West Virginia forward Derek Culver (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)

Gators Men’s Basketball Earns Spot in AP Poll

Following the Gators win over West Virginia, one question remained. Would it be enough to get Florida back into the Top 25? The answer is finally yes.

Florida is moving on up. In the week 11 AP Poll, they are rank 22nd. This is the first time this season the Gators are ranked in the AP Poll. As a matter of fact, this is the first time the Gators have been ranked since Nov. 29, 2019. At that time, “COVID-19” wasn’t in anyone’s vocabulary and fans could pack the O’Connell Center.

Suddenly, it seems like even longer ago, doesn’t it? Consider them to be ranked for the first time in the COVID era.

Since the loss to Kentucky on Jan. 9, the Gators have looked like a completely different team. Florida has won five of its last six games, including four straight. Two of these wins helped get the Gators into the rankings. First, the Gators took down sixth-ranked Tennessee. Then, they marched into Morganstown to nab a win against 11th-ranked West Virginia.

Florida coach Mike White speaks with forwards Samson Ruzhentsev (2) and Noah Locke (10) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against West Virginia Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Morgantown, W.Va. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)

The Gators sit at 10-4 on the season and 6-3 in SEC play. Florida looks to climb higher when they play South Carolina Wednesday, Feb. 3. They then hit the road again to face LSU on Saturday, Feb. 6.

AP Poll Top 25

  1. Gonzaga
  2. Baylor
  3. Villanova
  4. Michigan
  5. Houston
  6. Texas
  7. Ohio State
  8. Iowa
  9. Oklahoma
  10. Alabama
  11. Tennessee
  12. Illinois
  13. Texas Tech
  14. Virginia
  15. Creighton
  16. Virginia Tech
  17. West Virginia
  18. Missouri
  19. Wisconsin
  20. Florida State
  21. UCLA
  22. Florida
  23. Kansas
  24. Purdue
  25. Drake

About Harrison Smajovits

Harrison is a sports coordinator at ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF. He served as a beat writer for Florida Gators football for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He also contributes to WRUF's Gainesville Sports Center segments and makes appearances on the Clash on Harp on Sports. Harrison has been a content writer for WRUF since January 2019 as well.

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