Florida Gators Drop in Latest AP Top 25

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators men’s basketball team dropped one spot to No. 3 in the newest AP Top 25 on Monday. Duke jumped up to No. 2.

Florida is the second highest ranked team among their SEC counterparts, only trailing the top-ranked Auburn Tigers. Other SEC schools involved are Alabama (No. 6), Tennessee (No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 12), Missouri (No. 14), Kentucky (No. 17) and Mississippi State (No. 24).

Last week, the Gators beat Oklahoma and LSU. They hosted Oklahoma Tuesday and controlled that one from start to finish and dominated the Sooners to a 85-63 final.

Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. was the best player on the court that night, scoring 18 points. He also logged four rebounds and two assists.

The Gators held the Sooners to 38.8% shooting from the field and 35.0% from three. They forced 13 Sooner turnovers that helped generate 18 more points for its offense.

Following a win at home, Florida began a two-game road stretch against a struggling LSU team near the bottom of the SEC standings.

The struggling LSU team put up a fight in the first half. The Gators jumped out to a 29-15 first half lead, the Tigers rallied back with a 22-2 run over the final seven minutes of the first half to take a six-point lead heading to the locker room.

This momentum carried into the second half, pushing their lead to eight in the first five minutes.

The Gators found their footing and manufactured a 13-2 run over the following four minutes to go up 53-48.

It would remain close until the final minutes of the game. Alijah Martin scored six quick points to give Florida a 10-point cushion. The Gators won 79-65.

Both Clayton Jr. and Martin finished with double-digits in the scoring department. However, the stars of the game were actually the starting big men for Florida on Saturday. Rueben Chinyelu finished with a career-high 19 points and a team-high 13 rebounds in 25 minutes. His running mate, Thomas Haugh, ended with a double-double as well, scoring 16 points and bringing down 10 rebounds.

Up next for Florida will be a road trip to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. EST on SEC Network.

The Gators then head back to Gainesville to host Texas A&M on Saturday. This contest is scheduled for a late tip as it’s expected to start at 8:30 p.m. EST on SEC Network. Another wrinkle for this game is that it will be hosting College Gameday as well.

Admission for the event is free for students. They can enter at Gate 3 starting at 8:30 a.m. EST. The General Public can enter through Gate 1 starting at 8:45 a.m EST. GameDay starts at 10 a.m EST.