By crushing the majority of opponents on its schedule, the University of Florida men’s basketball team has emerged as one of the favorites to win the national championship this season.
Florida moved up from No. 4 to No. 2 in the Associated Press poll released Monday and received seven first-place votes out of 65. Indiana is No. 1, followed by the Gators, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Duke and No. 5 Kansas. It marks UF’s highest standing in the poll since winning the 2006-07 NCAA title.
“It just means that we’re on the right track,” center Patric Young said. “We just need to keep working and improving and not take any games for granted. We can’t lose any games right now.”
The Gators will try to preserve their ranking and stay in position to overtake Indiana in Tuesday night’s game at Arkansas (7 p.m., ESPN). Florida (18-2, 8-0 SEC) has won five straight against the Razorbacks dating to 2009.
On Saturday, the Gators won 78-64 over Ole Miss in their fourth-closest game this season. Florida’s only losses — both on the road — were by one point to No. 7 Arizona and by six to No. 13 Kansas State, while its narrowest victory was by 13 over Central Florida.
Most of UF’s wins have been thoroughly dominant. The Gators have owned a double-digit lead for nearly 58 percent of their minutes played this season.
The figure shoots to 65 percent in the SEC, as UF leads the conference with an average margin of victory of 26.5 points per game. Once the Gators get their lead up to 20, they are more likely to push it higher rather than to allow a team to work its way back into contention.
“Our guys have done a good job of continuing playing through,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I haven’t noticed our guys letting up or not being committed to the process of the next possession.”
Florida has only trailed for 23:17 in eight games since hitting conference play. Most of that came during a 64-47 win at Georgia.
After traveling to Arkansas (13-8, 4-4), the Gators host Mississippi State (7-13, 2-6) on Saturday. They beat the Bulldogs 82-47 in late January.
Florida is unlikely to stumble against those opponents, but Donovan and his players expect the team’s No. 2 ranking to elicit every opponent’s best effort.
“Teams are going to be ready to beat us,” forward Will Yeguete said. “Teams are definitely going want to get a crack at us.”
If they survive this week, the Gators have an opportunity to overtake Indiana for the top spot. The Hoosiers visit Illinois and No. 10 Ohio State.
Florida’s next test is a Feb. 12 home game against Kentucky. The unranked Wildcats stumbled to a 4-3 start but now are 15-6 overall and 6-2 in the SEC. They have won five straight against UF and nine of the past 11.
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