The 2025 calendar year is here and Florida basketball enters January as one of the hottest teams in the sport. The Gators are riding a 13-game winning streak as the 2024 portion of the schedule comes to a close and are among the top-ranked squads in the country.
However, things are just getting started as the Southeastern Conference slate opens up this Saturday for the Orange and Blue. One of the biggest criticisms of Todd Golden’s success so far is the lack of top-end opposition, but that is about the quickly change.
Florida has been moving up in the two major rankings, coming in at No. 5 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the Associated Press Poll, while also sitting at fourth in the NET rankings. CBS Sports’ power rankings had the Gators at No. 3 last week after their 12th win of the season.
The other rankings offered by CBS Sports come from Gary Parrish in his Top 25 and 1 update, in which Golden’s gang moved up one spot to No. 6. They had previously been at No. 7 for over a week.
CBS Sports Top 10
The top five schools remains unchanged, with the Tennessee Volunteers holding onto the top spot, followed by the Auburn Tigers, Iowa State Cyclones, Duke Blue Devils and Alabama Crimson Tide, respectively.
The rest of the top 10 all moved up one spot after the Kansas Jayhawks tumbled, with Florida ranked sixth, followed by the Marquette Golden Eagles, Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans and UCLA Bruins, respectively.
Next up for Florida
The Gators open up the SEC schedule against Kentucky on Saturday, Jan. 4, inside Rupp Arena. Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Gators hoops inches up CBS Sports Top 25 and 1 rankings after New Year
