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The first edition of the AP Top 25 poll for the 2026 calendar year brought some bad news for Florida basketball.
After opening the Southeastern Conference schedule with a 76-74 road loss to the Missouri Tigers, the Gators find themselves outside of the top 25 for the first time this season with a 9-5 overall record — one loss worse than their entire 2024-25 campaign. The last time the Orange and Blue sat outside the AP Top 25 was Week 18 of the 2023-24 season, falling out until the preseason poll the following fall.
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Todd Golden's gang finds themselves with just 11 votes this week after their subpar showing in Columbia, falling to a de facto No. 35 ranking after sitting at No. 22 two weeks ago.
SEC schools in AP Top 25 after Week 9
The Southeastern Conference is represented by just five schools in the first edition of 2026 for the AP Poll, headlined by the 11th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores, who remained right where they were in the previous update. They are followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 13), Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 15), Georgia Bulldogs (No. 18) and Tennessee Volunteers (No. 21).
Other teams earning votes are the LSU Tigers (14), Texas Longhorns (12), Florida (11), Kentucky Wildcats (9) and Auburn Tigers (3), respectively.
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AP Top 25 Men's Basketball rankings after Week 9
Arizona
Michigan
Iowa State
UConn
Purdue
Duke
Houston
Gonzaga
BYU
Nebraska
Vanderbilt
Micihigan State
Alabama
Texas Tech
Arkansas
Illinois
North Carolina
Georgia
Iowa
Louisville
Tennessee
Kansas
Virginia
SMU
UCF
Others receiving votes:
Villanova 127, Seton Hall 31, Southern Cal 28, Utah St. 27, Miami (Ohio) 22, Clemson 21, Saint Louis 14, LSU 14, Texas 12, Florida 11, Saint Mary's 10, Kentucky 9, California 8, Miami 5, Indiana 4, Auburn 3, TCU 2, UCLA 2, Virginia Tech 2.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball falls out of AP Poll Top 25 after Missouri loss
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