Florida Gators Ranked 13 in Latest AP Poll
December 2, 2009 by Jim Folsom
Filed under Mens, The Nosebleeds
Florida beats FAMU but Billy Unhappy
The Florida Gators men’s basketball team has gone from being a hunter to be one of the hunted this week. The Gators cracked the top 25 in both the AP and ESPN coaches polls for the first time this season on the strength of a 3-0 week against BCS Conference competition. With a rout Over FSU, a win over then #2 Michigan State, and a rather easy win over Rutgers, the Gators check in at #13 in the AP and #17 in ESPN. So much for flying under the radar.
Florida Now has a target on its back. Florida A&M proved this on Tuesday night. The 0-7 Rattlers came to the O’Connell Center and gave UF quite a battle. The halftime score was 37-33. UF then went on a tear at the start of the second half to open up a big lead of over 20 at the 10 minute mark. But over he last 10 minutes, that’s where it stayed with UF winning by 21, 80-59.
The Gators will now have to learn to expect this every night. They are again a big deal. Syracuse is on the schedule for next week. This will be a good test to see how far the Gators have really come. They were able to sneak up on MSU. The Orange will be ready. Syracuse has a win already over North Carolina. The same North Carolina last night ran Michigan State out of the gym for most of the game. The Heels ended up winning by 7, but the game was never really in much doubt.
The Gators have one more tune up against Jacksonville on Friday before the game against Syracuse. Should the Gators beat the Orange, the non-conference schedule then lightens up the rest of the way, giving the Gators a good chance to go into SEC play unbeaten. This gives UF an excellent shot at going into the post season with a single digit loss count. Single digit losses in a power conference mean a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. This means starting with lesser competition in the early rounds. That is the recipe for a deep run. Good luck Gators!
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