Gators Move Up Again in AP Poll After Beat Down of ASU

The Florida Gators' historic start to the season and dominant play against quality competition have them continuing their climb in the rankings

The Gators keep rolling and they keep being rewarded for it / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Gainesville, Fla. – The Florida Gators men’s basketball team on Monday moved up two spots in the AP Top 25 to No. 7. 

This two-spot jump comes after a dominant performance against Arizona State on Saturday, where they thumped the Sun Devils 83-66 thanks to a strong second-half performance. 

“Really proud of our players. I thought they did an incredible job of executing our game plan,” Gators head coach Todd Golden said after the game. “I thought well both halves, but I thought in second half we did a really good job of letting our defense lead us to transition. We were able to get out on some spurts – getting some steals, getting some run-outs, getting some dunks.”

It also helps when their best three players combine for 56 of the team’s 83 points. Walter Clayton Jr. ended with a game-high 25 points, Will Richard finished with 16 points and Alijah Martin added 15 points as well. Martin also almost had a triple-double. In addition to his 15 points scored, he brought down 11 rebounds and dished out six assists. 

Florida’s 10-0 start to the season is the third time it’s occurred in program history and the first since the 2005-06 season where the team started 17-0 and would eventually win a national championship by the end of it. Additionally, all 10 wins have been by at least 13 points with a +21.1 margin of victory on average.

Up next for the Gators is the North Carolina Tar Heels on Tuesday in the Jumpman Invitational. The Tar Heels are 6-4 right now but have played some tough opponents through their first 10 games. They’ve come up against Kansas, Auburn, Michigan State and Alabama. So, the Gators will need to make sure they don’t take their opponents' records for face value. 

This game will be televised on ESPN and is scheduled for a 7 pm tip-off on Tuesday.