New AP Poll should give Florida MBB fans hope for a national championship

Florida Basketball has been on a tear to open the 2024/25 campaign. The Gators are 9-0 and are one of only five teams in the country with at least nine wins and zero losses.

The latest AP Poll has bumped the Gators up once again after Florida demolished Virginia 87-69 last week. And their ranking in the latest poll has historically been a key indicator as to whether or not Florida has a real shot at winning the national title in 2025.

Florida Basketball: Moving on up

Florida is now ranked 9th in the latest AP Poll after being 13th last week. This is the highest the Gators have been in the poll since the preseason poll in 2019, when Florida wound up unranked by week two of the poll.

The top 12 in the poll is currently made up of:

1) Tennessee

2) Auburn

3) Iowa State

4) Duke

5) Kentucky

6) Marquette

7) Alabama

8) Gonzaga

9) Florida

10) Kansas

11) Purdue

12) Oregon

It may seem like a weird distinction to point out the top 12, but as the X account Trilly Donovan points out, the eventual national champion in men's basketball since 2004 have all been ranked in the top 12 of the week six AP Poll.

Florida's 9-0 start is their best start since the 2005-06 national title team. That team was ranked 7th in the week six poll. The 2006-07 national title squad was 5th in the week six poll.

Florida's next game is in Atlanta against Arizona State on Saturday at 3:30 PM. The Gators will then travel to Charlotte to take on UNC on December 17 at 7:00 PM.

After that, the Gators will have tune-up games against North Florida and Stetson before starting SEC play against Kentucky on January 4 in Lexington.