Gators drop two spots in both AP and Coaches top 25 polls

(Photo by Chris Spears)

Last week’s loss to Georgia dropped the Florida Gators two spots to fifth in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Bracketologists Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm immediately dropped the Gators from a No. 1 NCAA seed to a No. 2.

Obviously, Ken Pomeroy (kenpom.com) didn’t get the memo. Nor did Bart Torvik (barttorvik.com) or Evan Miyakawa (evanmiya.com). If you really want to know who are the best teams in college basketball, you read those guys religiously, particularly Pomeroy. All three of them have Florida No. 4 in their analysis. The Gators are also No. 4 in the NCAA NET rankings.

Despite the loss at Georgia, the Gators are one of college basketball’s four best teams. There isn’t a team above or below them in anybody’s rankings that they can’t beat. If they show up focused and ready to go from the opening tip there isn’t a team they can’t beat.

Win these next two games – at No. 8 Alabama and home against Ole Miss – and the Gators should move back to the No. 1 line for both Lunardi and Palm.

Coaches top 25: 1. Auburn 27-2; 2. Duke 26-3; 3. Houston 25-4; 4. Tennessee 24-5; 5. FLORIDA 25-4; 6. St. John’s 26-4; 7. Michigan State 24-5; 8. Alabama 23-6; 9. Texas Tech 22-7; 10. Iowa State 22-7; 11. Clemson 24-5; 12. Wisconsin 22-7; 13. Louisville 23-6; 14. Maryland 22-7; 15. Michigan 22-7; 16. Memphis 24-5; 17. Saint Mary’s 27-4; 18. Purdue 20-9; 19. Missouri 21-8; 20. Marquette 22-7; 21. Texas A&M 20-9; 22. BYU 21-8; 23. Arizona 19-10; 24. Kentucky 19-10; 25. VCU 24-5

Associated Press top 25: 1. Auburn 27-2; 2. Duke 26-3; 3. Houston 25-4; 4. Tennessee 24-5; 5. FLORIDA 25-4; 6. St. John’s 26-4; 7. Alabama 23-6; 8. Michigan State 24-5; 9. Texas Tech 22-7; 10. Iowa State 22-7; 11. Clemson 24-5; 12. Wisconsin 22-7; 13. Maryland 22-7; 14. Louisville 23-6; 15. Missouri 21-8; 16. Memphis 24-5; 17. Michigan 22-7; 18. Purdue 20-9; 19. Kentucky 19-10; 20. Marquette 22-7; 21. Saint Mary’s 27-4; 22. Texas A&M 20-9; 23. BYU 21-8; 24. Arizona 19-10; 25. Mississippi State 20-9

SEC Basketball

Tonight’s games

No. 1 Auburn (27-2, 15-1 SEC) at No. 22 Texas A&M (20-9, 9-7 SEC)

LSU (14-15, 3-13 SEC) at No. 19 Kentucky (19-10, 8-8 SEC)

Texas (16-13, 5-11 SEC) at No. 25 Mississippi State (20-9, 8-8 SEC)

Arkansas (17-12, 6-10 SEC) at Vanderbilt (20-9, 8-8 SEC)

Georgia (18-11, 6-10 SEC) at South Carolina (12-17, 2-14 SEC)

Wednesday’s games

No. 5 FLORIDA (25-4, 12-4 SEC) at No. 7 Alabama (23-6, 12-4 SEC)

No. 4 Tennessee (24-5, 11-5 SEC) at Ole Miss (20-9, 9-7 SEC)

No. 15 Missouri (21-8, 10-6 SEC) at Oklahoma (17-12, 4-12 SEC)

Saturday’s games

Ole Miss (20-9, 9-7 SEC) at No. 5 FLORIDA (25-4, 12-4 SEC)

No. 7 Alabama (23-6, 12-4 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (27-2, 15-1 SEC)

South Carolina (12-17, 2-14 SEC) at No. 4 Tennessee (24-5, 11-5 SEC)

No. 22 Texas A&M (20-9, 9-7 SEC) at LSU (14-15, 3-13 SEC)

No. 19 Kentucky (19-10, 8-8 SEC) at No. 15 Missouri (21-8, 10-6 SEC)

No. 25 Mississippi State (20-9, 8-8 SEC) at Arkansas (17-12, 6-10 SEC)

Vanderbilt (20-9, 8-8 SEC) at Georgia (18-11, 6-10 SEC)

Oklahoma (17-12, 4-12 SEC) at Texas (16-13, 5-11 SEC)

UF BASEBALL: AIDAN KING SEC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Freshman Aidan King, who pitched 3-1/3 scoreless innings in Florida’s game two win over Miami and three no-hit shutout innings earlier in the week against Stetson, was named SEC Pitcher of the Week. In five appearances this season, King is 2-0 with an 0.87 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10-1/3 innings.

The Gators (11-1) moved up to No. 7 in the D1Baseball top 25 poll while remaining No. 6 in the Baseball America poll. The Gators will take on UCF (8-3) in Orlando tonight, returning home Wednesday to face Florida Atlantic (10-1).

D1Baseball top 25: 1. LSU 11-1; 2. Tennessee 11-0; 3. Arkansas 10-1; 4. North Carolina 12-0; 5. Georgia 13-1; 6. Florida State 11-0; 7. FLORIDA 11-1; 8. Oregon State 7-3; 9. Virginia 7-3; 10. Oregon 10-2; 11. Clemson 10-1; 12. Texas 9-1; 13. Oklahoma 11-0; 14. Texas A&M 6-4; 15. Wake Forest 10-3; 16. UC-Santa Barbara 9-2; 17. Ole Miss 10-1; 18. Vanderbilt 9-3; 19. Troy 11-1; 20. Southern Miss 9-3; 21. Dallas Baptist 8-3; 22. Auburn 11-1; 23. Alabama 12-0; 24. Coastal Carolina 10-2; 25. Oklahoma State 6-4

Baseball America top 25: 1. Tennessee 11-0; 2. LSU 11-1; 3. Arkansas 10-1; 4. Florida State 11-0; 5. Clemson 10-1; 6. FLORIDA 11-1; 7. North Carolina 12-0; 8. Virginia 7-3; 9. Georgia 13-1; 10. Oklahoma 11-0; 11. Texas A&M 6-4; 12. Texas 9-1; 13. Oregon State 7-3; 14. Oklahoma State 6-4; 15. Oregon 10-2; 16. Wake Forest 10-3; 17. Vanderbilt 9-3; 18. UC-Irvine 8-3; 19. Ole Miss 10-1; 20. Alabama 12-0; 21. Dallas Baptist 8-3; 22. Mississippi State 7-4; 23. Kentucky 9-1; 24. Southern Miss 9-3; 25. UC-Santa Barbara 9-2

UF SOFTBALL: WALSH SEC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Reagan Walsh, who went 11-16 with three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI while helping the Gators go 5-0, was named Southeastern Conference Co-Player of the Week. For the season, Walsh is hitting .345 with five doubles, six homers and 23 RBI.

The Gators (23-1) remained third in the Softball America poll, trailing Texas and Oklahoma. The Gators will go on the road to face Houston Wednesday before opening up the SEC portion of their schedule in College Station against 5th-ranked Texas A&M (20-2).

The Gators lead the nation in hitting (.402) and RBI (208). UF is second in home runs (44). Taylor Shumaker leads the nation in RBIs (38) and is tied for second in home runs (11). Kendra Falby leads the country in stolen bases (26) and is fourth in hits (36). Shumaker (38) and Falby (36) rank 1-2 in runs scored.

Softball America top 25: 1. Texas 20-1; 2. Oklahoma 19-0; 3. FLORIDA 22-1; 4. Arizona 21-2; 5. Texas A&M 20-2; 6. LSU 18-1; 7. UCLA 18-4; 8. Florida State 16-1; 9. South Carolina 19-0; 10. Arkansas 19-1; 11. Oregon 20-1; 12. Tennessee 19-3; 13. Oklahoma State 14-4; 14. Duke 14-6; 15. Georgia 18-2; 16. Texas Tech 18-6; 17. Auburn 19-1; 18. Nebraska 15-6; 19. Alabama 15-6; 20. Virginia Tech 17-4; 21. Stanford 14-3; 22. Liberty 16-4; 23. Virginia 15-5; 24. Mississippi State 18-3; 25. Clemson 14-6

UF LACROSSE: GATORS FALL TO NO. 10

Florida’s loss to James Madison Saturday sent the Gators plummeting into a tie for 10th with Syracuse in the Inside Lacrosse poll. The Gators will be home Saturday to face 16th-ranked Loyola at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

Inside Lacrosse top 25: 1. Boston College 6-0; 2. North Carolina 5-0; 3. Northwestern 5-1; 4. Yale 5-0; 5. Michigan 4-1; 6. Stanford 6-0; 7. Clemson 5-0; 8. Johns Hopkins 4-2; 9. Maryland 3-1; 10. (TIE) FLORIDA 3-2 and Syracuse 3-3; 12. James Madison 4-1; 13. Princeton 3-1; 14. Virginia 3-2; 15. Stony Brook 3-1; 16. Loyola 3-2; 17. Duke 4-2; 18. Navy 5-1; 19. Harvard 3-1; 20. Penn 2-2; 21. Ohio State 5-0; 22. Notre Dame 3-3; 23. Southern California 5-1; 24. Drexel 4-2; 25. UConn 4-2

UF WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: GATORS 11TH SEED AT SEC TOURNAMENT

As the 11th seed, the Gators (14-16, 5-11 SEC) will open play in the Southeastern Conference Tournament against 14th-seeded Auburn (12-17, 3-13 SEC) Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in Greenville, South Carolina. During the regular season the Gators lost on the road at Auburn, 74-51.

If the Gators win Wednesday, they play 6th-seeded Alabama (23-7, 10-6 SEC) Thursday at 8:30. During the regular season, the Gators lost twice to Alabama, falling 79-69 in Tuscaloosa and 84-66 in Gainesville.   

A BRAIN IS A TERRIBLE THING TO BASTE … BASKETBALL THOUGHTS

1. Well, excuuuuuussse me: Bill Bender of Sporting News came up with NCAA brackets. He has Florida a No. 2 based on the Gators losing by five to Auburn. If memory serves me correct, the Gators beat Auburn by nine AT Auburn.

2. Virginia will hire Shaka Smart: He’s at Marquette, which is a dead end. If you’re a 4- or 5-star recruit and you have a choice between Milwaukee and Charlottesville? Charlottesville and it’s a no-brainer. Shaka can win a national championship at Virginia. He’s the guy UVa wants and they’ll get him.

3. A power program will hire Will Wade: And why not? What got him in trouble at LSU is legal now. Oh, sure, some do-gooder elite of a college president will say not on my watch, but some school will take a chance and will be glad he did.

4. Texas will pink slip Rodney Terry: This is set in stone. Texas is going to miss the NCAA Tournament and the natives are restless. Only God has more money than the Longhorns, who will fire Terry and make a Godfather offer to lure Billy Donovan from the NBA.

5. If Indiana is really smart it will make a serious run to hire …: The right man for the job is Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams. He’s won everywhere he’s ever been, but he’s never been somewhere that it is realistically possible to win a national championship. That is possible at Indiana. Despite the fact God and the Longhorns are the only ones with more money than the Aggies, basketball at A&M is what you do while waiting for spring football to begin. At Indiana, basketball is practically the state religion and the Indiana coach can recruit Indianapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Louisville, which are all nearby.