Florida’s men’s basketball team dropped to No. 10 on the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after the first week of play.
The Gators lost the season opener to now No. 7 Arizona, and spotty guard play is an obvious issue for the reigning national champs. While it might not be the 13-0 start that last year’s squad delivered, there’s still plenty of reason to have faith in this team. It’s very early in the season, and Todd Golden expects his two backcourt transfers — Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee — to play better moving forward.
Fland and Lee struggled shooting from beyond the arc again against North Florida on Thursday, but the Gators still won by 40 points. Week 2 brings a more consistent level of competition with Florida State and Miami on the agenda. The Gators will get a chance to prove themselves against elite talent at the beginning of December, with No. 3 Connecticut and No. 4 Duke on the schedule.
SEC teams ranked inside the Top 25
Purdue and Houston are the two teams at the top of the college basketball world, with Michigan rounding out the top 5. Brigham Young, Kentucky and Alabama take up the Nos. 7-9 spots, respectively.
Besides the three SEC teams ranked inside the top 10, only Tennessee (No. 18), Arkansas (No. 21) and Auburn (No. 25) crack the list. Vanderbilt is right on the bubble as the de facto No. 26 team in the country. The Commodores received 31 votes this week — just 17 fewer than the Tigers.
Ole Miss (8), Missouri (5), Georgia (4) and Texas (1) all received votes as well.
USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after Week 1
Others Receiving Votes
Vanderbilt 31; Oregon 26; Baylor 25; Indiana 24; North Carolina State 23; Virginia 14; San Diego State 10; Ole Miss 8; USC 6; Missouri 5; Georgetown 5; Clemson 5; Saint Mary’s 4; Georgia 4; Iowa 3; Ohio State 2; Texas 1; Kansas State 1
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball clinging to top-10 spot in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll after Week 1
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
