For the first time under Todd Golden, Florida Basketball is ranked in the top 25

The first year and a half for Florida Basketball in the Todd Golden Era haven't always been smooth sailing. There have been some blown leads, some inconsistent play, and some questions as to whether his offensive sets work in crunch time.

But since their drubbing at the hands of Tennessee, Florida has won seven of their last eight and are one of the hotter teams in all of college basketball. As such, the Gators have become ranked for the first time under Golden.

Florida Basketball: Moving On Up

The Gators have been steadily moving their way up to become ranked. Over the last few weeks, Florida had been picking up votes in the AP poll and have moved off the bubble for the NCAA Tournament into a firm six or seven seed.

Florida is now ranked 24th in the AP poll.

But now that the Gators have a number next to their name, the target on their back is only heightened. Tomorrow night's contest against Alabama is now a top 25 clash that could firmly cement Florida's place in the tournament and could even start to get them in the conversation of being a four seed come tournament time.

A loss won't derail the season and Florida is sitting on three Quad 1 wins, but a blowout loss does reopen some of the question marks we had about this squad after its blowout loss to Tennessee.

Tipoff will be on the road is Tuscaloosa at 7PM on ESPN2.