Gainesville, Fla. – The No. 9 Florida Gators men’s basketball team continued their ascendency in ESPN’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Power Rankings on Thursday, pushing into the top 10.

The Gators moved up four spots in the power rankings from the last update as ESPN’s Jeff Borzello placed the Gators at No. 8 in the rankings. They are 9-0 to begin the season, the best start for the program since the 2005-06 season began 17-0, and they’ve won every game by double-digits. 

“Though we won’t get a true gauge for Florida’s ceiling until SEC play, the Gators face the two toughest games of their nonconference schedule in an 80-hour span this weekend into next week,” Borzello said. 

However, he does feel the Gators walk out of both games with a win to stay undefeated. 

“The Sun Devils and Tar Heels need a statement performance, for different reasons, but Florida should remain unbeaten,” Borzello added. 

He’s not entirely wrong either. Florida’s toughest opponents to date are Florida State, Wake Forest, Wichita State and Virginia. And they dismantled them all. That’s a good thing though. While the big games throughout the season you want to win, it is equally important that you handle what you’re expected to as well. 

Also, as Borzello mentioned, it’s hard to know about the ceiling this Gators team possesses until SEC play.

Florida gets Kentucky in Rupp Arena to start January and follows it up with hosting Tennessee just three days after. They will then travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Razorbacks. That’s certainly a fun opening stretch that will tell who this team really is. 

Florida gets Kentucky in Rupp Arena to start January and follows it up with hosting Tennessee just three days after. They will then travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Razorbacks. That’s certainly a fun opening stretch that will tell who this team really is.

So, should they take down this trio, we could be looking at the No. 1 ranked team in the AP Top 25 and ESPN’s Power Rankings.