Florida’s exile from the Associated Press Top 25 didn’t last long.
After getting the boot last week for the first time since the end of the 2023-24 season, the Gators drilled Georgia and Tennessee at home to earn the No. 19 spot in the AP poll that came out Monday.
To stay there, Florida (11-5, 2-1 SEC) must handle road games at Oklahoma and No. 10 Vanderbilt. The Sooners (11-5, 1-2) are up first on Tuesday night in Norman, Okla.
The reigning national champions have won six of their last seven, including Saturday’s 91-67 win over then-No. 21 Tennessee that Florida coach Todd Golden said was his team’s best performance of the season.
“It starts with defending and rebounding and taking care of the ball,” Golden said.
Florida has done plenty of rebounding this season. The Gators’ 46.9 rebounds per game and their plus-15.9 rebounding margin lead Division I.
The Sooners have averaged 5.3 more rebounds than their opponents this season, along with 84.4 points per game.
“They’re a very good offensive team,” Golden said. “We’ve got to guard really well. We’ve got to rebound and allow our defense to help our offense.”
After claiming their SEC opener to stretch their winning streak to five games, the Sooners have dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season. After a 72-53 defeat Wednesday at Mississippi State, they dropped an 83-76 decision Saturday at Texas A&M.
During those two losses, the Sooners were outscored 46-12 off the bench. The Sooners’ reserves played 116 minutes, but hit just 3 of 19 from the floor in that span.
“We’ve got to get better production from our bench,” Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said.
Oklahoma has been one of the best teams in the country at limiting turnovers for much of the season, but committed 30 miscues in the pair of losses. That included 17 against the Aggies.
The Sooners are led by guards Nijel Pack and Xzayvier Brown, who average 16.4 points and 15.2 points per game, respectively.
There figures to be plenty of pressure Tuesday on Oklahoma’s frontcourt, mainly 6-foot-10 starter Mohamed Wague, though 6-9 Kuol Atak and 6-11 Kirill Elatontsev will log key minutes off the bench.
Wague leads the Sooners with 7.3 rebounds per game. Only Notre Dame transfer Tae Davis (6.6 rpg) joins him in averaging more than 4.3.
Florida has four players averaging at least 6.6 rebounds, led by 6-11 Rueben Chinyelu’s 10.6 per game. Alex Condon (14.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg), Thomas Haugh (17.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Micah Handlogten (4.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg) keep the pressure on opposing frontcourts.
Golden thinks Florida’s offense still has room for growth. Boogie Fland put up 23 points, five assists and three 3-pointers against Tennessee, but the rest of the Gators hit just 6 of 24 from 3-point range.
“When we start making some shots, we’re going to be able to run away from some people,” Golden said.
Tuesday’s game starts a stretch where the Gators play five of eight on the road.
Florida won last season’s matchup with Oklahoma, 85-63, in Gainesville, Fla.
