Last week we mused how AP Poll voters dropped Florida Basketball from 2nd to 3rd for the simple reason that they weren't Duke. As astute viewers of the sport know, the tie always goes to Duke.
Florida didn't exactly help themselves by losing to Georgia last week, but when one considers the resumes in totality, it feels a bit comical who they were dropped behind in the latest AP Poll.
Florida Basketball: Count The Votes
The Gators are 5th in this week's AP Poll. They are behind Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Tennessee.
We can muse over whether Houston deserves the bump over Florida, though the Cougars are ahead of the Gators in NET. Putting Tennessee ahead of Florida, however, seems to follow far less logic.
Florida and Tennessee split their season series, blowing each other out. If we are splitting hairs, though, Florida was at least competitive for a half in its loss, while Tennessee was ready to go home the moment it stepped on the court in Gainesville.
However, there are two other metrics that make it strange that the Volunteers are ahead of the Gators. The first is the simple fact that Florida is ahead of Tennessee in NET. If computer rankings aren't your cup of tea, Tennessee is currently 4th in the SEC while the Gators are 2nd.
Tennessee has won four in a row, but they had to scrape by in all four of those wins. Of the three common opponents Florida and Tennessee have had during that stretch (Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and LSU), the Volunteers didn't win by more than eight, while Florida won all three of those games by at least 11.
Much like we said last week, being 5th in the AP Poll is primarily semantics. The endgame goal is winning out this week to secure a double bye in the SEC Tournament and the Selection Committee will take a deeper look at all these metrics than AP voters.
But it is another reminder of how Florida must continue to fight for the respect that other squads get with minimal effort.