College basketball rankings: Florida rises as Gators pick up key SEC victory over Vanderbilt
The Gators have now won eight of their last nine games after a shaky start to the 2025-26 season
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
There have been a bunch of different conversations about college basketball's most disappointing team at various points in this season. Sometimes the label has been attached to St. John's or Kentucky. Right now, it's probably UCLA.
In early December, it was maybe Florida.
Yes, the reigning national champ started 5-4 (with a loss to TCU) after being ranked third in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll. Neither transfer portal addition in the backcourt was looking like money well spent. The Gators dropped to as low as 33rd in the NET and to what amounts to 35th in the AP poll.
But now look.
Since dropping four of their first nine games, the Gators have won eight of their past nine with the latest victory representing the biggest. Final score: Florida 98, Vanderbilt 94.
That was Saturday's most notable result, I think. The Quadrant-1 win on the road inside Nashville's Memorial Gym pushed Florida to 13-5 overall, 4-1 in the SEC and up to 14th in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Vanderbilt dropped to 16-2 overall, 3-2 in the SEC. The Commodores are 15th in the Top 25 And 1.
"I'm incredibly proud of our group," said Florida coach Todd Golden. "I just told these guys in the locker room: this is an incredibly challenging place to play a great team that I believe plays better at home, by a wide margin, than on the road. So a little disadvantage for us, only playing them once here. And we talked about it -- that if our goal of winning the league was realistic, that this would be a game that was really important to make that happen. And we got it done."
Indeed, they did.
And, just like that, KenPom.com is now projecting Florida to finish atop the SEC with a 14-4 league record -- two games ahead of Vanderbilt and Alabama. If things do unfold that way, it would be Golden's first regular-season conference championship in a seven-year head-coaching career that already includes one NCAA Tournament championship (2025) and one SEC Tournament championship (2025).
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
5
Duke
9
North Carolina
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Jaden Bradley finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 84-77 win at UCF. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Cincinnati. | -- | 18-0 |
| 2 |  | Pryce Sandfort finished with 22 points and two rebounds in Saturday's 77-58 win at Northwestern. The Cornhuskers' next game is Wednesday against Washington. | -- | 18-0 |
| 3 |  | Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 64-62 win at Georgetown. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Villanova. | -- | 18-1 |
| 4 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 80-50 win at Stanford. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Wake Forest. | 5 | 17-1 |
| 5 |  | Braden Smith finished with 22 points and five assists in Saturday's 69-64 win at USC. The Boilermakers' next game is Tuesday at UCLA. | 1 | 17-1 |
| 6 |  | Elliot Cadeau finished with 17 points and five assists in Saturday's 81-71 win at Oregon. The Wolverines' next game is Tuesday against Indiana. | 1 | 16-1 |
| 7 |  | Mario Saint-Supery finished with 20 points and four assists in Saturday's 71-50 win at Seattle. The Zags' next game is Wednesday against Pepperdine. | 1 | 19-1 |
| 8 |  | Jeremy Fears finished with 19 points and five assists in Saturday's 80-63 win at Washington. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday at Oregon. | 3 | 16-2 |
| 9 |  | Milos Uzan finished with 17 points and two assists in Tuesday's 77-48 win over West Virginia. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Arizona State. | 3 | 16-1 |
| 10 |  | Richie Saunders missed eight of the 15 shots he attempted in Saturday's 84-71 loss at Texas Tech. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Utah. | 6 | 16-2 |
| 11 |  | Joshua Jefferson missed eight of the 12 shots he attempted in Saturday's 79-70 loss at Cincinnati. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday against UCF. | 6 | 16-2 |
| 12 |  | Zvonimir Ivisic finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 77-67 win over Minnesota. The Illini's next game is Wednesday against Maryland. | 1 | 15-3 |
| 13 |  | JT Toppin finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 84-71 win over BYU. The Red Raiders' next game is Tuesday at Baylor. | 1 | 14-4 |
| 14 | | Rueben Chinyelu finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 98-94 win at Vanderbilt. The Gators' next game is Tuesday against LSU. | 1 | 13-5 |
| 15 |  | Duke Miles missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted in Saturday's 98-84 loss to Florida. The Commodores' next game is Tuesday at Arkansas. | 5 | 16-2 |
| 16 |  | Malik Thomas finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 72-68 win at SMU. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against North Carolina. | 3 | 16-2 |
| 17 |  | Carter Welling finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 69-59 win over Clemson. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday against NC State. | 4 | 16-3 |
| 18 |  | Darryn Peterson finished with 26 points and three assists in Friday's 80-62 win over Baylor. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday at Colorado. | -- | 13-5 |
| 19 |  | Labaron Philon Jr. finished with 23 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 83-81 win at Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | 1 | 13-5 |
| 20 |  | Maleek Thomas missed 13 of the 17 shots he attempted in Saturday's 90-76 loss at Georgia. The Razorbacks' next game is Tuesday against Vanderbilt. | 4 | 13-5 |
| 21 |  | Ryan Conwell finished with 24 points and six assists in Saturday's 100-59 win at Pitt. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Virginia Tech. | 1 | 13-5 |
| 22 |  | Kellen Thames finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 88-63 win over Richmond. The Billikens' next game is Tuesday at Duquesne. | 3 | 17-1 |
| 23 |  | Bryce Hopkins finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 86-79 win at Villanova. The Red Storm's next game is Tuesday against Seton Hall. | NR | 13-5 |
| 24 |  | Samet Yigitoglu missed eight of the 11 shots he attempted in Saturday's 72-68 loss to Virginia. The Mustangs' next game is Tuesday at Wake Forest. | -- | 13-5 |
| 25 |  | Kellen Thames finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 88-63 win over Richmond. The Billikens' next game is Tuesday at Duquesne. | NR | 15-3 |
| 26 |  | Derek Dixon missed six of the 11 shots he attempted in Saturday's 84-78 loss at Cal. The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday against Notre Dame. | 9 | 14-4 |
IN: St. John's, Georgia
OUT: Tennessee, Utah State
