Florida Basketball entered their matchup against Kentucky on Saturday ranked 6th in the country. It was the first time in a decade that the Gators had been ranked in the top 10 as late as January in an individual season.
Even though Florida lost 106-100, voters were still impressed by what they saw from the Gators and have kept Todd Golden and crew ranked in the top ten.
Florida Basketball: Get knocked down, but get up again
Florida finds itself ranked 8th in the latest AP Poll. They find themselves behind Tennessee, Auburn, Iowa State, Duke, Alabama, Kentucky, and Marquette.
If you are keeping score at home, even though Florida is ranked 8th nationally, they are only the 5th highest-ranked team in the SEC.
Florida had their fair share of chances to knock off Kentucky and had an early double-digit lead, but hot shooting from the Wildcats combined with some poorly timed turnovers from the Gators led to a couple of key runs, including a 16-0 run by Kentucky to ultimately doom the Gators.
Florida's minimal drop in the polls is a reflection of the goodwill they built up during the non-conference portion of their season, combined with the all-around strength of the SEC this year. The conference has nine teams ranked in the Week 10 poll.
There is no time for Florida to catch their breath as coming to Gainesville is top-ranked Tennessee. Florida is considered a three-point favorite for the top-ten showdown. After Tennessee will be Arkansas, who were hammered themselves by the Volunteers on Saturday.