Florida basketball ranks 3rd in AP Top 25 ahead of NCAA Tournament start
The Florida Gators will start the NCAA Tournament ranked third in the nation according to the AP Top 25 released on Monday. Entering the SEC Tournament, the Orange and Blue had been ranked third, but its conference tournament crown was enough to bump the Auburn Tigers down to fourth to take their place.
The Duke Blue Devils remain the top-ranked team with 49 first-place votes, followed by the Houston Cougars and their six top votes. Florida and Auburn also pulled in a pair while the St. John's Red Storm rounded out the top five without one.
A total of seven SEC schools cracked the top 25 headlined by the Gators and Tigers, followed by the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers, No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide, No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats, No. 19 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 23 Missouri Tigers. The Ole Miss Rebels missed the cut but still earned 13 votes this week.
Take a look below at the full AP Top 25 rankings as March Madness kicks off.
AP Top 25 Rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
| 1 | Duke(49) | 31-3 | 1463 |
| 2 | Houston(6) | 30-4 | 1394 |
| 3 | Florida(2) | 30-4 | 1370 |
| 4 | Auburn(2) | 28-5 | 1291 |
| 5 | St. John's | 30-4 | 1225 |
| 6 | Tennessee | 27-7 | 1174 |
| 7 | Alabama | 25-8 | 1120 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 27-6 | 1080 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | 25-8 | 926 |
| 10 | Louisville | 27-7 | 809 |
| 11 | Maryland | 25-8 | 764 |
| 12 | Clemson | 27-6 | 746 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 26-9 | 732 |
| 14 | Michigan | 25-9 | 681 |
| 15 | Iowa State | 24-9 | 641 |
| 16 | Memphis | 29-5 | 636 |
| 17 | BYU | 24-9 | 563 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 22-11 | 511 |
| 19 | Texas A&M | 22-10 | 457 |
| 20 | Saint Mary's | 28-5 | 306 |
| 21 | Arizona | 22-12 | 253 |
| 22 | Purdue | 22-11 | 227 |
| 23 | Missouri | 22-11 | 159 |
| 24 | Gonzaga | 25-8 | 151 |
| 25 | Oregon | 24-9 | 115 |
Dropped from rankings:
Illinois 24, Marquette 25
Others receiving votes:
Drake 107, Marquette 69, UC San Diego 57, Illinois 55, VCU 28, Creighton 28, Ole Miss 13, McNeese 4, UConn 4, Colorado State 4, Kansas 3, High Point 3, Akron 3, UCLA 3
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball ranking AP Top 25 ahead of NCAA Tournament
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