Gators Land Within NCAA's Power 36 Ranking Amid Three-Game Win Streak
Photo: Florida head coach Todd Golden; Credit: Zach Goodall
The Florida Gators turned in their third straight win on Saturday, holding on to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs in overtime, 102-98, in a crucial matchup for their postseason hopes.
Not only did the victory maintain the Gators' internal momentum heading into an SEC conference-opening rematch with the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday, but it signaled Florida's fortitude on a national landscape for a potential NCAA Tournament berth.
NCAA.com's Andy Katz took notice when compiling his weekly Power 36 rankings, slotting the Gators in at No. 33 from their previously unranked position during the Jan. 22 rendition of the series.
"The Gators are making a midseason push with a three-game win streak," Katz wrote, justifying his inclusion of Golden's program.
Despite a near-catastrophic collapse against Georgia on Saturday, seeing a 21-point second-half lead evaporate as the Bulldogs pulled even with under a minute remaining to force overtime, Florida connected on all seven free throw attempts in the added five minutes to notch a significant victory on their home hardwood against its SEC rival.
The third win in a row moved UF to above .500 in the conference for the first time this season and 14-6 on the year. According to Golden, it's a testament to his team trending in the right direction.
"The reality is, the guys feel it," he said postgame on the importance of the win. "Like, we're definitely playing better. We're playing better. The wins are stacking. And listen, we got a tough stretch coming up. We go to Rupp, we go to College Station. I think we have Auburn coming in after a bye after that. So it ain't getting any easier.
"This was a game we were supposed to win. Not that that means that you're definitely going to win, as proven by their comeback, but when you stack games like this, you put yourself in position to accomplish your goals."
One of the Gators' goals is to return to the field of 68 in March. With the win, they're firmly positioned as a team on the bubble with over half of the SEC schedule remaining.
Despite considerable ups and downs throughout the campaign, Florida's discovered its identity as a high-octane, offensively oriented squad.
Led by a quartet of highly skilled guards — Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton Jr., Riley Kugel and Will Richard — the unit has excelled in an up-tempo style designed to find open attempts from three and at the rim early in the shot clock. However, when working in traditional halfcourt offense, the squad's ball movement and ability to create off the dribble have proven more sustainable than in years past.
It's culminated in Florida's No. 8 standing in scoring offense with 85.4 points per game on average. The Gators rank in the top 15 of offensive efficiency per KenPom.
Big men Tyrese Samuel, Micah Handlogten and Alex Condon have benefited from the style as well, receiving consistent looks inside and the freedom to attack the offensive glass to create second-chance opportunities when a shot goes up.
They've dominated the boards on both ends so far this season, aiding the group to post the nation's best rebounding per game mark (44.65) of any program in the country by nearly a full rebound.
The rapidly developing nature of Florida's offense and ability to come away with the 50/50 balls off the rim summarizes the Gators' strengths through 20 games.
It's allowed them to overcome sluggish defensive efforts at times, placing them on the cusp of an NCAA Tournament berth depending on their finish to the regular season.
A valuable opportunity — which could catapult them in the right direction with a favorable outcome — now awaits.
Following a two-game home stint last week, Florida hits the road to Lexington for a midweek clash with Kentucky.
The Gators took John Calipari's then-sixth-ranked squad to the wire in Gainesville on Jan. 6 but failed to complete the upset bid after being outscored by 10 in the second half. On Wednesday, they'll aim for retribution, looking to add a fourth-straight tally in the win column against the No. 10 Wildcats.
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