Gators Men’s Basketball Rises; New No. 1 in AP Poll
After securing a win against conference rivals Georgia last Wednesday and topping Kentucky in a ranked-home matchup Saturday, the Gators are climbing the rankings yet again.
Florida (19-6, 10-2 SEC) rose to No. 12 in the Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll this week and booted the Wildcats off the list.
However, the Gators’ shift was far from the most eventful.
No. 4 Arizona
Most of the attention this week fell on the former No. 1 team.
After going undefeated for the first 15 weeks of the season, two teams brought down the Wildcats (23-2, 10-2) in back-to-back games. Hot off a blowout 84-47 win against Oklahoma State, Arizona had hoped to use that momentum to survive a grueling week.
But it was no match for the schedule ahead. The Wildcats fell first to then-No. 9 Kansas, which rose to No. 8 on Monday with the win. Despite leading by three points going into the second half, the road environment was too much for Arizona late in the game as it dropped its first contest of the season, 82-78.
Hoping to prove the loss was a fluke, the Wildcats returned home to face then-No. 16 Texas Tech. They were met again with a fierce competitor, needing overtime to get a winner. Arizona fell 78-75 after struggling from beyond the arc, taking its second loss of the season and ultimately ceding its place at the top.
“I’m not terribly surprised, because there’s just so many tough games for them in the Big 12,” said Shawn O’Neal, the senior editor for Lindy’s Preseason College Basketball Magazine. “The lack of 3s, it does present a calculation issue at some point. A team that can hit 3s is going to get them, and so Texas Tech got them the other night.”
No. 1 Michigan
When the Wildcats went down, another team had to be there to take their place. After dropping only one game all season, it was no surprise that the Wolverines (24-1, 14-1) made the jump.
Michigan has won its last 10 matchups, including two top-10 wins against Nebraska and Michigan State. While that was not enough to put the Wolverines over an undefeated Arizona, they are now the winningest team in men’s college basketball.
“I don’t think there’s any surprise in Michigan being number one,” said Anthony Kristensen, AP Poll voter and reporter for Whole Hog Sports. “Michigan’s been outstanding all year and just has been really putting it on a lot of teams.”
The new No. 1 will be tested this week against No. 7 Purdue and No. 3 Duke.
No. 7 Purdue
The biggest shift this week lies with the Boilermakers (21-4, 11-3). Up six places, they cracked the top 10 and secured their place among the best of the best.
The move follows four straight wins, including one against then-No. 7 Nebraska, 80-77, in overtime. With Nebraska falling to No. 9 this week, Purdue took its place in the No. 7 slot.
“The Nebraska win in overtime, I think there’s where the jump comes from,” O’Neal said. “I think we are seeing Purdue stabilize … they are going to climb because people think they are better than that three-game losing streak.”
The Boilermakers also topped Iowa, Oregon and Maryland in their four-game run and bested Maryland by 30 points and Iowa by 21, proving their dominance over some of their weaker conference opponents.
Category: College Baseball, Gator Sports, Gators Men's Basketball
