Gators Move Up One Spot in AP Top 25

Todd Golden's Gators are on the rise after back-to-back wins to move to 12-0.

Dec 21, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) dribbles the ball against the North Florida Ospreys during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators men’s basketball team received a one-spot boost in the new AP Top 25 rankings that was released on Monday, going from No. 7 to No. 6. 

Florida's movement came as a result of Kentucky losing to Ohio State over the weekend paired with the Gators' recent wins over North Carolina and North Florida to move to 12-0 on the season.

The first of the two was a scary outing against the Tar Heels in the Jumpman Invitational.  

The game began as a comfortable one for Florida, as they were leading by double-digits for most of the first half and even took a 12-point lead going into halftime. However, the Gators fell apart to begin the second half and their once 12-point lead was cut all the way to just one.

From there, it was a back-and-forth battle between the Tar Heels and the Gators until around three minutes left. At this point, the Gators trailed 79-82 , but ended the game on an 11-2 run to close it out and take down the Tar Heels 90-84. 

The hero of this game was Will Richard. Richard ended with a team-high 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting and knocking down three of his five triples. 

And Richard’s great offensive production didn’t stop there. 

In the 99-45 victory over North Florida, he poured in a game-high and career-high 26 points in just 21 minutes of action. Moreover, it was another efficient night as well, hitting nine of his 12 shots and six of his eight 3’s. 

In addition to Richard’s performance against North Florida, the Gators also had three players record double-doubles in this game. Alex Condon, Sam Alexis and Thomas Haugh all scored 10 or more points and grabbed 10 or more rebounds. 

“All the four of those [frontcourt] guys played around 20 and the fact that they were so impactful on the boards and finishing up around the rim to get double figure points was awesome,” UF head coach Todd Golden said after being asked about having three players with double-doubles. 

For the week overall though, Richard has to be singled-out for his output. He averaged a solid 24.0 points per game, shooting 17-for-22 overall from the field and 9-for-13 on 3-point attempts. 

As for the team accolades from the week, they have pushed their streak to 12 wins on season, which is the longest active winning streak in the nation. 

Up next for the Gators on the schedule is Stetson at home on Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to be streaming-only on SEC Network+/ESPN+.