Florida Gators Men's Hoops Move Up in Latest AP Poll

The performance out of the gate was enough to see the Gators get a bump up in the rankings

The Florida Gators are already moving their way up in the rankings / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

On Monday, the newest version of the Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll was released with the Florida Gators moving up one spot to No. 20 after a 2-0 start to the season. 

During the first week of the 2024-25 season, the Gators bested both South Florida and Jacksonville University to start the year undefeated. 

They began with South Florida last Monday, using dominant performances from Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard to win 98-83. 

Clayton Jr. did most of his damage in the second half, scoring 20 of his 29 total points in the final half of the game. Richard, on the other hand, was the reason the Gators stayed within reach in the first half. The senior wing helped juice a late first-half run by supplying eight points in a row during a 10-0 run for the Gators near the end of the first half. He ended the game with 25 points and shot 2-for-7 from 3. 

In the Gators' second game of the year against Jacksonville, they left Exactech Arena with an 81-60 win over the Dolphins. 

This game was a little bit better on the defensive end of the floor for the Gators as they only allowed 60 points and had their opponents shooting 37.9 percent overall and 29.2 percent from deep. 

In addition to this great defensive display, the Gators also were helped by a career night from Alex Condon and a positive home debut from Alijah Martin. 

Condon finished with a career-high 23 points against the Dolphins and shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, and 2-for-2 from 3. For Martin, he ended with 15 points, four assists, four rebounds and six steals. Both had solid nights that helped ease the Gators to the finish line. 

It is no surprise seeing the Gators only move up one spot given the competition, but if they want to continue to rise in the rankings, then they’ll have to make sure they continue to handle what’s in front of them. 

Todd Golden and his guys’ next outing on the court will be tonight against Grambling State at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+ and ESPN+.