Florida Basketball Re-Enters AP Top 25

An up-and-down start for Gators' hoops is now only looking up.

AP Photo - Jessica Hill

It's certainly been an up-and-down start to the 2019 season for Florida's men's basketball team, but right now, things are on the up-and-up.

The Gators (5-2), fresh off of winning the Charleston Classic tournament this past weekend, have moved into the AP Top 25 poll, earning the No. 24 spot. 

This comes a week after Florida fell out of the poll entirely, and just over a month from the Associated Press placing the Gators in the No. 6 slot to begin the season. But hey, a three-game win streak, including a 70-65 win over No. 18 Xavier, and a tournament championship in one week will give you a good boost.

Florida appears to finally be shaking off the offseason rust, and gelling as a young squad. In its first four games, coach Mike White's team shot only 38.4% from the floor, going a miserable 24.1% from three-point range. The Gators were averaging a mere 62.5 points per game, which ranked 313th out of 353 qualifying college basketball teams.

Over the past three games - all wins - those numbers are improving. The Gators are now posting 66.9 points per game, averaging 72.7 in the tournament. That season average still ranks very low at 281st in the nation, but jumped 32 spots over the course of one week.

Florida also hit 50.3% of its shots in the Charleston Classic, and went 24-59 (40.7%) from beyond the arc.

This Gators' team is far from perfect, but it's improving. And as they continue to mesh, perhaps Florida can continue to climb back up to its previous top ten standing.