Florida basketball's brutal home loss to the Auburn Tigers two weeks ago is well in the rearview mirror after a pair of superlative performances — a 47-point beatdown of the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road, followed by an epic victory in the O'Dome against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
As a result of the Gators' plus-70 margin of victory over the last two games, Todd Golden finds his team up five spots in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll at No. 16. That puts the Orange and Blue between the No. 15 Vanderbilt Commodores and No. 17 Virginia Cavaliers.
That kick in the pants at home appears to have given Florida a wake-up call, and now the Gators have put the rest of the SEC — and college basketball — on notice with nine games remaining on the regular-season schedule.
SEC schools in Coaches Poll top 25 after Week 13
The Southeastern Conference once again has only four member schools in this week's poll, with Vanderbilt hanging onto their league-high No. 15 ranking. Florida is right behind them at No. 16, followed by the Arkansas Razorbacks, who fell five spots to No. 21, and the Texas A&M Aggies, who entered the rankings for the first time this season at No. 25.
Alabama fell out of the top 25, and now follows the de facto No. 27 Tennessee Volunteers (55 votes) with 15 votes. The Kentucky Wildcats continue to cling to their nine votes while the Georgia Bulldogs earned a pair this week.
USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll top 25 after Week 13
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | 22-0 | 775 | 31 | 1 | – | 1/13 |
| 2 | Michigan | 20-1 | 728 | 0 | 2 | – | 1/7 |
| 3 | UConn | 21-1 | 715 | 0 | 3 | – | 3/7 |
| 4 | Duke | 20-1 | 692 | 0 | 4 | – | 3/6 |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 22-1 | 625 | 0 | 6 | +1 | 5/20 |
| 6 | Illinois | 19-3 | 599 | 0 | 10 | +4 | 6/19 |
| 7 | Iowa State | 20-2 | 588 | 0 | 9 | +2 | 2/18 |
| 8 | Houston | 19-2 | 586 | 0 | 7 | -1 | 2/8 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 20-2 | 502 | 0 | 5 | -4 | 5/NR |
| 10 | Michigan State | 19-3 | 486 | 0 | 8 | -2 | 8/21 |
| 11 | Kansas | 16-5 | 448 | 0 | 14 | +3 | 11/NR |
| 12 | Purdue | 18-4 | 387 | 0 | 12 | – | 1/12 |
| 13 | Texas Tech | 16-5 | 365 | 0 | 11 | -2 | 11/20 |
| 14 | BYU | 17-4 | 315 | 0 | 13 | -1 | 7/14 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt | 19-3 | 311 | 0 | 15 | – | 8/NR |
| 16 | Florida | 16-6 | 306 | 0 | 21 | +5 | 3/NR |
| 17 | Virginia | 18-3 | 303 | 0 | 17 | – | 15/NR |
| 18 | North Carolina | 17-4 | 280 | 0 | 18 | – | 12/25 |
| 19 | Clemson | 18-4 | 217 | 0 | 19 | – | 18/NR |
| 20 | Saint Louis | 21-1 | 197 | 0 | 22 | +2 | 20/NR |
| 21 | Arkansas | 16-6 | 154 | 0 | 16 | -5 | 14/23 |
| 22 | St. John's | 16-5 | 132 | 0 | 24 | +2 | 6/NR |
| 23 | Louisville | 15-6 | 72 | 0 | 20 | -3 | 5/23 |
| 24 | Miami (OH) | 22-0 | 68 | 0 | 25 | +1 | 24/NR |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 17-4 | 61 | 0 | NR | +4 | 25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 23 Alabama; No. 25 Iowa
Others Receiving Votes
Iowa 52; Tennessee 50; UCF 15; Alabama 15; Villanova 13; Kentucky 9; North Carolina State 4; Utah State 2; Georgia 2; Saint Mary's 1
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll ranking up after win