College basketball rankings: Florida Gators bumped back in top 25, again, despite quality win

Florida Gators basketball moved to 25-4 (12-4 SEC) on Saturday in Year 3 under head coach Todd Golden coming off another dominant victory over a top 25 opponent. The Gators continue to make headlines and program history across the 2024-25 season with their mark through 29 games standing as the third best at this juncture in a season.

Expectations have now been raised for Florida, which is being projected as a No. 2 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament following a midweek road loss. The Gators have the best win in the nation this season (at No. 1 Auburn) and a tremendous resume, though they again slid down the rankings despite beating a team — ranked No. 12 a week ago — by 19 points.

Florida fell two more spots in the college basketball rankings on Monday when it moved to No. 5 in the AP Top 25. UF has been ranked among the top six for eight straight weeks with its No. 2 ranking from two weeks ago the highest it has placed in the AP Top 25 since March 17, 2014, the final poll of that regular season.

The Gators similarly lost two spot moving to No. 5 in the Coaches Poll. They are behind Tennessee in both rankings due to the Volunteers holding victories and overall meetings against fellow top 25 teams.

Florida remains No. 4 in the NET Rankings with a 6-4 record against Quadrant 1 opponents, 15-4 against the first two quadrants. The NCAA Selection Committee uses those rankings — which largely evaluate quality of wins and losses — as part of their process in choosing the NCAA Tournament field.

The Gators will wind up playing eight games against seven teams in this week’s rankings.

AP Top 25 — March 3

1. Auburn (61) — [W 90-81]
2. Duke
3. Houston
4. Tennessee — [W 73-43, L 44-64]
5. Florida
6. St. John’s
7. Alabama — [March 5]
8. Michigan State
9. Texas Tech
10. Iowa State
11. Clemson
12. Wisconsin
13. Maryland
14. Louisville
15. Missouri — [L 82-83]
16. Memphis
17. Michigan
18. Purdue
19. Kentucky — [L 100-106]
20. Marquette
21. Saint Mary’s
22. Texas A&M — [W 89-70]
23. BYU
24. Arizona
25. Mississippi State — [W 81-68]