Florida basketball ranked inside the top five in The Athletic's Top 25 reset rankings
Florida basketball ranked inside the top five in The Athletic's Top 25 reset rankings
The Florida Gators men's basketball team has earned a No. 5 ranking in The Athletic's updated preseason top 25, following the dust settling on the transfer portal and NBA draft decisions.
In his "Top 25 Reset", college basketball analyst CJ Moore praised the Gators' size, depth and incoming transfers as key reasons for their rise.
Florida's frontcourt, featuring Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, was highlighted as a potential matchup nightmare. Also, the Gators added two major transfers in guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee.
Head coach Todd Golden's ability to reload after a national championship run was also commended. Moore emphasized the Gators' up-tempo offensive style and potential for further growth from players like Haugh and Condon as central to Florida's championship hopes.
The Gators are the highest-ranked SEC program in the rankings, ahead of teams like the Kentucky Wildcats (No. 9) and Auburn Tigers (No. 10).
Here is everything Moore wrote about Florida basketball and why he ranked them at No. 5.
What The Athletic said about Florida
"Big is back: Last season's best teams had positional size and elite paint protection. Florida could play a giant lineup that features Thomas Haugh (6-9), Alex Condon (6-11) and Rueben Chinyelu (6-10) up front. Those three played together only three possessions last season, per CBB Analytics, but it'll be hard to justify bringing one of them off the bench, considering Haugh's performance in the NCAA Tournament and the inexperience of the other wing options. That big lineup could also help mask some defensive limitations of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee.
"Florida's up-tempo style should help Fland prove he can be a more efficient player than he was under John Calipari. The Gators will contend for another title if Fland and Lee are productive and if Haugh and Condon continue to gain confidence in their playmaking and scoring abilities. They'll be expected to perform more like stars and take some of the heat off perimeter guys who cannot be expected to replicate the production of Walter Clayton."
The Athletic's top five college basketball teams
The Athletic ranked the Purdue Boilermakers as the top team in the country, followed by the Houston Cougars, UConn Huskies, Michigan Wolverines and Florida Gators to round out the top five.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
33 minutes ago
- USA Today
Can Texas A&M Football finally break the eight-win cycle in 2025?
The summer for Texas A&M football has given Aggie fans plenty to be excited about, especially with how well the program has been recruiting for the 2026 class. Paired with a veteran team ranked in the top five for returning production, it's easy to see why some in the media are high on the Maroon & White next season. Over the last decade, Texas A&M has fallen into a frustrating cycle: a strong start to the season, finishing with eight wins, securing a solid recruiting class, raising fans' hopes, only to end with another eight-win campaign. A true live-action version of 'wash, rinse, repeat' that's left the fan base feeling apathetic. Although A&M is currently in the 'solid recruiting' phase of this cycle, the team under second-year head coach Mike Elko seems to carry a different vibe. That's been evident not only among current players but also among recruits the Aggie staff has connected with over the past season. Positive energy is great for recruiting and roster retention, but the ultimate question is whether that energy will translate to success on the field. For too long, Texas A&M has been on the outside looking in, despite boasting some of the best facilities in the country and consistent media hype from across the college football world. We're back in that familiar spot, but this year, something feels different. That SEC Football Podcast recently previewed the Aggies' upcoming season and shared slightly differing opinions on what lies ahead. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
All the FIFA Club World Cup permutations as final round of group games begin
The final set of group games at the FIFA Club World Cup get underway on Monday (June 23) and it's still all to play for across the tournament's first round. The top two teams in each of the eight groups will advance to the knockout stage, with the bottom two in each being eliminated. Here, The Athletic guides you through the state of play in each group and who needs to do what to reach the last 16. Teams level on points will be separated by their head-to-head records and then overall goal difference. Here is what the FIFA rulebook for the tournament says: If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the completion of the group stage, the following criteria, in the order below, shall be applied to determine the ranking: a) greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned b) superior goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned c) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned If, after having applied criteria a) to c) above, teams still have an equal ranking, to determine their final rankings, criteria a) to c) above are applied to the matches between the remaining teams only. If no decision can be made through this procedure, criteria d) to f) below shall apply as follows to the two or more teams still equal on points: d) superior goal difference in all group matches e) greatest number of goals scored in all group matches f) highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained: — yellow card: minus 1 point — indirect red card (as a result of two yellow cards): minus 3 points — direct red card: minus 4 points — yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points Only one of the above deductions shall be applied to a player or team official in a single match. The team with the highest number of points shall be ranked highest. Advertisement g) finally, drawing of lots by FIFA How they stand: Results: Al Ahly 0-0 Inter Miami, Palmeiras 0-0 Porto, Palmeiras 2-0 Al Ahly, Inter Miami 2-1 Porto. Remaining fixtures: Inter Miami vs Palmeiras, Porto vs Al Ahly; both on June 23 (9pm ET; 2am on June 24 UK time). Palmeiras: The Brazilian club will advance to the knockout stage if they avoid defeat against Inter Miami. If they lose, they will still go through if Porto fail to win. If they do lose and Porto win, however, then whoever out of Palmeiras and the Portuguese side has the better overall goal difference in all group matches will advance. Inter Miami: Lionel Messi's side will advance to the knockout stage if they get at least a point against Palmeiras. If they lose, Inter Miami will still go through if Al Ahly fail to beat Porto. If Inter Miami do lose and Al Ahly win, then overall goal difference comes into play again. Porto: The Portuguese side must beat Al Ahly and hope Inter Miami win to have any chance. Porto would also need an overall superior goal difference to Palmeiras. Al Ahly: The team from Egypt must beat Porto and hope Palmeiras defeat Inter Miami. If these two results do materialise, then whoever out of Al Ahly and Inter Miami has the better goal difference from their three group games will advance. How they stand: Results: Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Atletico Madrid, Botafogo 2-1 Seattle Sounders, Seattle Sounders 1-3 Atletico, PSG 0-1 Botafogo. Remaining fixtures: Seattle Sounders vs Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo; both on June 23 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Botafogo: The club from Brazil will secure a place in the knockout stage if they avoid defeat against Atletico. If they lose to Diego Simeone's team, then they will still advance if PSG fail to beat Seattle Sounders. If they do lose to Atletico, and PSG win, then Botafogo need to have a better goal difference than Atletico from matches between Botafogo, Atletico and PSG to advance alongside PSG. Advertisement Paris Saint-Germain: If the European champions beat Seattle Sounders, they will advance. If PSG draw, they will go through if Atletico fail to beat Botafogo. If they lose, then they must hope that Atletico are defeated by Botafogo and then whoever advances in second place (behind Botafogo) will be determined by goal difference exclusively in matches between the other three sides. Atletico Madrid: Must avoid defeat. If they win, they will go through if PSG fail to beat Seattle Sounders. If PSG also win, then the two teams that advance out of Botafogo, Atletico and PSG will be determined by goal difference in their head-to-heads. If Atletico draw, they can only go through if PSG lose. Seattle Sounders: Must win and hope Atletico lose, then have the best goal difference in matches between themselves, Atletico and PSG. How they stand: Results: Bayern Munich 10-0 Auckland City, Boca Juniors 2-2 Benfica, Benfica 6-0 Auckland, Bayern 2-1 Boca. Remaining fixtures: Auckland vs Boca, Benfica vs Bayern; both on June 24 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Bayern Munich: The German champions have advanced to the last 16. Benfica: Will advance if they avoid losing to Bayern or if Boca Juniors fail to beat Auckland City. If Benfica lose and Boca win, then overall goal difference in all group matches will determine which of the two teams goes through. Boca Juniors: Must beat Auckland City and hope Bayern win, then rack up a superior overall goal difference to Benfica. Auckland City: The club from New Zealand have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Chelsea 2-0 Los Angeles FC, Flamengo 2-0 Esperance Tunis, Flamengo 3-1 Chelsea, LAFC 0-1 Tunis. Remaining fixtures: LAFC vs Flamengo, Tunis vs Chelsea; both on June 24 (9pm ET; 2am on June 25 UK time). Flamengo: The Brazilian side have qualified for the last 16. Chelsea: Simple: avoid defeat against Tunis and the London club will go through. Lose, and Enzo Maresca's side will be eliminated. Advertisement Esperance Tunis: Anything other than a win against Chelsea will see them knocked out. Los Angeles FC: The side from California have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: River Plate 3-1 Urawa Red Diamonds, Monterrey 1-1 Inter, Inter 2-1 Urawa Reds, River 0-0 Monterrey. Remaining fixtures: Inter v River, Urawa Reds vs Monterrey; both on June 25 (9pm ET; 2am on June 26 UK time). River Plate: The Argentine club will go through if they beat Inter. If they draw, they will advance if Monterrey fail to beat Urawa Red Diamonds. If Monterrey do win, and River draw, the Argentinians will go through if they draw by a scoreline of 2-2 or higher. If it is 0-0 they will be eliminated and if it is 1-1 then whoever has the better overall goal difference in all group matches out of River and Monterrey will advance alongside Inter. If River lose they will be knocked out only if Monterrey win. Inter: Will go through if they avoid defeat against River. If they lose, they will still advance providing Monterrey fail to beat Urawa Reds. If Monterrey win, and Inter lose, then the Italian club will be eliminated. Monterrey: The Mexican side must beat Urawa Reds to have any chance of going through. If Monterrey do win and the game between Inter and River isn't a draw, then they will advance. If they pick up three points but the Inter-River match finishes level, then whichever of Monterrey and River Plate scored more goals in matches between themselves and Inter will advance alongside the Italian club. This means that if it is 0-0 in the Inter-River match, then Monterrey will advance. If it is 2-2 or higher, River Plate will go through. If it is 1-1, then whoever out of River and Monterrey has the higher overall goal difference in all group matches will advance alongside Inter. Urawa Red Diamonds: The club from Japan have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Fluminense 0-0 Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD 0-1 Mamelodi Sundowns, Sundowns 3-4 Dortmund, Fluminense 4-2 Ulsan. Remaining fixtures: Dortmund vs Ulsan, Sundowns vs Fluminense; both on June 25 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Fluminense: Will go through if they avoid defeat against Mamelodi Sundowns. If they lose, they will be knocked out if Borussia Dortmund avoid defeat against Ulsan HD. If Dortmund also lose, then Fluminense will have to hope their overall goal difference in all group matches is better than Dortmund's. Advertisement Borussia Dortmund: Draw or win against Ulsan HD and the German side will advance. If they lose, they will still go through providing Sundowns don't beat Fluminense. If the South African side win, and Dortmund lose, then whoever has the better overall goal difference in all group matches between the German club and Fluminense will advance alongside the South African side. Mamelodi Sundowns: If they win they go through. Fail to pick up three points and they will be knocked out. Ulsan HD: The South Korean side have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Manchester City 2-0 Wydad AC, Al Ain 0-5 Juventus, Juventus 4-1 Wydad, City 6-0 Al Ain. Remaining fixtures: Juventus v Manchester City & Wydad AC v Al Ain; both on June 26 (3pm ET; 8pm UK time). Juventus: The Italian side have qualified for the last 16. Avoid defeat to City and they will finish top of the group. Manchester City: The English club have qualified for the last 16. Wydad AC: The Moroccan side have been eliminated. Al Ain: The club from the United Arab Emirates have been eliminated. How they stand: Results: Real Madrid 1-1 Al Hilal, Pachuca 1-2 Red Bull Salzburg, Madrid 3-1 Pachuca, Salzburg 0-0 Al Hilal. Remaining fixtures: Al Hilal vs Pachuca, Salzburg vs Madrid; both on June 26 (9pm ET; 2am on June 27 UK time). Real Madrid: If the Spanish club avoid defeat, they will qualify for the knockout stage. If they lose, they will still go through if Al Hilal fail to win, but would be eliminated if the Saudi Arabian club beat Pachuca. Red Bull Salzburg: Will go through if they beat Madrid. If they draw, they will advance if Al Hilal fail to win. If Al Hilal do win, and Salzburg draw, the Austrians will go through if they draw by a scoreline of 2-2 or higher. If it is 0-0, and Al Hilal win, they will be eliminated but if it is 1-1, whoever out of Salzburg and Al Hilal has the better overall goal difference in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid. This means that if Al Hilal were to win by two goals or more, and Salzburg-Madrid finishes 1-1, then Salzburg will be eliminated. If the Saudi Arabian win by one goal, and Salzburg-Madrid finishes 1-1, then whoever out of Salzburg and Al Hilal has scored more goals in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid. If Red Bull Salzburg lose they will be knocked out only if Al Hilal win. Advertisement Al Hilal: Must beat Pachuca to have any chance of going through. If Al Hilal win and the game between Salzburg and Madrid isn't a draw, then they will advance. If they pick up three points and Salzburg-Madrid finishes level, then whichever of Al Hilal and Salzburg scored more goals in matches between themselves and Madrid will advance alongside the Spanish club. This means that if it is 0-0 in the Salzburg-Madrid match, then Al Hilal will go through and if it is 2-2 or higher, Salzburg will advance. If it is 1-1, then whoever out of Al Hilal and Salzburg has the higher overall goal difference in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid, meaning a two-goal win would send the Saudi Arabian side through. A one-goal win for Al Hilal, in the event of Salzburg-Madrid being 1-1, would mean that whoever out of Al Hilal and Salzburg has scored more goals in all group matches will advance alongside Madrid. Pachuca: The club from Mexico have been eliminated. Match 49: June 28, 12pm ET Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Match 50: June 28, 4pm ET Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Match 53: June 30, 3pm ET Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte Match 54: June 30, 9pm ET Camping World Stadium, Orlando Match 51: June 29, 12pm ET Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Match 52: June 29, 4pm ET Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Match 55: July 1, 3pm ET Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Match 56: July 1, 9pm ET Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Match 58: July 4, 9pm ET Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Match 57: July 4, 3pm ET Camping World Stadium, Orlando Match 59: July 5, 12pm ET Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Match 60: July 5, 4pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey Match 61: July 8, 3pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey Match 62: July 9, 3pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey Match 63: July 13, 3pm ET MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
USC men's basketball head coach Eric Musselman attends Dodgers game at Chavez Ravine
Eric Musselman has certainly made a name for himself as a basketball coach. That said, hoops is not the only sport he loves. Musselman is also a big baseball fan, and has attended numerous games throughout Southern California since taking the USC head coaching job. Last Tuesday, Musselman was in attendance for the Los Angeles Dodgers versus San Diego Padres game at Dodger Stadium. Prior to the game, Musselman chatted on the field with Padres manager Mike Shildt and Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell. 'Date night at Dodger Stadium,' Musselman wrote on social media, accompanied by a photo of himself and his family on the field. Musselman grew up in San Diego and attended the University of San Diego, so he grew up a Padres fan. Unfortunately for him, however, San Diego came up short in this one, as the Dodgers won 8-6. Eric Musselman witnessed one of the best matchups in Major League Baseball in 2025. Hopefully this helps him sell a vision of excellence to his 2025-2026 USC team, which will be expected to reach the NCAA Tournament and raise the bar for the Trojan hoops program.
