Florida basketball stays at No. 5 in USA Today men’s poll

Florida basketball stays at No. 5 in USA Today men’s poll

December 30, 2024

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Florida basketball maintained its spot at No. 5 in this week’s USA Today men’s college basketball poll.

The Florida Gators (13-0) finished off their non-conference schedule unbeaten after knocking off Stetson 85-45 on Sunday at the O’Connell Center. Florida posted a season-high 12 steals in the win and blocked seven shots.

“We’ve continued to play better defensively,” Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said. “Our effort and our energy have been really good. We’ve been disruptive. These last few games, we’ve had a lot of opportunities to switch in ball screens, and our bigs have done a good job keeping guys in front.”

Florida is off to its best start to a season since starting the 2005-06 campaign 17-0. Of UF’s 13 non-conference wins this season, five have come against power four opponents ― Florida State, Wake Forest, Virginia, Arizona State and North Carolina.

The Gators will begin conference play Saturday at No. 11 Kentucky (noon, ESPN), followed by a showdown with No. 1 Tennessee in their SEC home opener on Jan. 7 (7 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2). The Tennessee game has already been announced as a sellout.

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1