Despite an ugly, 20-point loss to the Tennessee Volunteers over the weekend, the Florida Gators held steady at No. 6 overall in February’s first USA TODAY Coaches Poll. Meanwhile, the Vols leapfrogged Todd Golden’s team as a result of the victory.
Although Florida managed not to lose any ground, Tennessee jumped up four spots and back into the top four as a result of Saturday’s contest. The new top five goes: Auburn, Duke, Alabama, Tennessee and Houston, in that order. The Gators received 580 total poll points, putting them 33 points behind the Cougars and only six points ahead of the Purdue Boilermakers.
SEC schools in Coaches Poll top 25
In addition to the four top-10 programs mentioned above, three more teams from the Southeastern Conference are ranked this week.
Texas A&M has moved out in front of Kentucky at Nos. 13 and 14, respectively, with Missouri trailing close behind at No. 16 following a five-spot jump. Both Mississippi State (No. 13 a week ago) and Ole Miss (No. 23) dropped out of the poll this week, knocking the SEC down to seven ranked programs. However, both programs have a good chance to return to the rankings at the unofficial Nos. 26 and 27 spots. The Bulldogs are a bit closer with 88 points, but the Rebels earned a respectable 70. This week’s No. 25 team, Illinois, only managed 108 poll points.
Vanderbilt no longer has any support from the voters, which coincides with a Tuesday meeting in Gainesville with Florida.
Coaches Poll Top 25 Week 12 rankings
|
Ranking |
Team |
Record |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Auburn |
20-1 |
773 (29) |
|
2 |
Duke |
19-2 |
745 (2) |
|
3 |
Alabama |
19-3 |
710 |
|
4 |
Tennessee |
18-4 |
644 |
|
5 |
Houston |
17-4 |
613 |
|
6 |
Florida |
18-3 |
580 |
|
7 |
Purdue |
17-5 |
574 |
|
8 |
Iowa State |
17-4 |
564 |
|
9 |
Michigan State |
18-3 |
501 |
|
10 |
St. John’s |
19-3 |
473 |
|
11 |
Marquette |
18-4 |
439 |
|
12 |
Texas Tech |
17-4 |
436 |
|
13 |
Texas A&M |
17-5 |
410 |
|
14 |
Kentucky |
15-6 |
310 |
|
15 |
Memphis |
18-4 |
309 |
|
16 |
Missouri |
17-4 |
307 |
|
17 |
Kansas |
15-6 |
288 |
|
18 |
UConn |
16-6 |
178 |
|
19 |
Wisconsin |
17-5 |
151 |
|
20 |
Arizona |
15-6 |
148 |
|
21 |
Clemson |
18-4 |
145 |
|
22 |
Michigan |
16-5 |
117 |
|
23 |
Saint Mary’s |
20-3 |
114 |
|
24 |
Maryland |
17-5 |
110 |
|
25 |
Illinois |
15-7 |
108 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 13 Mississippi State; No. 18 Oregon; No. 22 Louisville; No. 23 Ole Miss
Others Receiving Votes
Mississippi State 88; Ole Miss 70; Louisville 50; Creighton 44; Oregon 31; New Mexico 18; UCLA 7; West Virginia 6; Utah State 4; Gonzaga 4; Drake 2; BYU 2; UC Irvine 1; Baylor 1
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball No. 6 in Week 13 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
