Gators Move Up in AP Poll to End Regular Season

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators men’s basketball team jumped a spot in the newest AP Poll that was released on Monday, finishing the regular season at No. 4. This is their highest placement in the AP Poll to end the regular season since 2014.

Florida went 2-0 on the week with a major road win over No. 7 Alabama and an emphatic senior night win over Ole Miss.

The first contest came against the No. 7 Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala. It started out great for the visitors as they jumped out to a 15-8 lead within the first five minutes. This lead was manufactured in large part to star Walter Clayton Jr., who had eight of the 15 points.

However, the host quickly got their footing and took a four-point lead just a few minutes later thanks to an 11-0 run. From here, it became a back-and-forth battle between the top-10 teams to the end of the half. After the first 20 minutes, the Gators led 41-40.

The second half continued this way as it was a 55-55 game by the 14:18 mark. This is where the tide began to shift in the favor of Florida, though. Florida controlled the next four minutes of the game to take a 68-61 advantage over Alabama. They would extend their lead even further heading into the under-eight media timeout, leading 75-63.

With this surge from the Gators, they were able to keep their opponents at arms length for nearly the rest of the game. However, Alabama did make a late run in this one and hit some late threes to make it interesting, but it wasn’t enough as the Gators defeated the Crimson Tide 99-94.

For the second game of the week, the Gators played host to the Ole Miss Rebels. This one was really never close with the Gators dominating the Rebels 90-71.

The Gators led this one for almost the entire game and a big reason why was because of Clayton. On his senior night, Florida’s star was 9-for-17 (5-for-11 from 3) with 23 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

In addition to Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin also played their last homes for the Gators. Richard finished with 10 points and three rebounds while Martin ended with 13 points, five rebounds, three steals, an assists and a block.

Up next for the Gators is the SEC Tournament. The Gators earned themselves a double-bye in the tournament after finishing 14-4 in conference play, which was good enough for the No. 2. They won’t play until 7 p.m. Friday, March 14, against either the winner of LSU/Mississippi State vs. Missouri.