It has been a good week for the 5th ranked Florida Gators and the cherry on top of the cake came on Saturday with a win over rival Georgia. Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton Jr. scored 17 points apiece, and No. 5 Florida dominated Georgia 89-59 on Saturday, extending the Gators’ winning streak in the series to 12.
It’s the longest streak by either team in the Southeastern Conference rivalry that began in 1923.
Meanwhile, other news from college basketball: Michigan State ascended to its highest ranking in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll this season on Monday with a move up one spot to No. 7 after another perfect week in Big Ten play. The Spartans went 2-0 on the week with wins over Illinois and Rutgers to improve to 8-0 in conference play. It is one of four remaining teams in the sport still unbeaten in league play along with Duke (ACC), Auburn (SEC) and Houston (Big 12).
The Spartans began the year unranked in the AP Top 25 poll but appeared in the rankings in Week 6 for the first time after an 8-2 start to the season which included wins over North Carolina, Minnesota and Nebraska at the time, and have steadily risen each of the last five weeks. They’ve yet to lose since Nov. 26 and own a 12-game winning streak in that span, tied for the second-longest active streak in college hoops.
The team with the longest active winning streak, Duke, once again held steady at No. 2 in this week’s poll for a second consecutive week firmly entrenched still behind unanimous No. 1 Auburn. The Tigers earned all 62 available first-place votes for a second consecutive week, and the entire top-five remained unchanged behind the two as Iowa State, Alabama and Florida remained at Nos. 3-5.
AP Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn (62) | 18-1 | 1,550 | 1 |
| 2 | Duke | 17-2 | 1,484 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa State | 17-2 | 1,404 | 3 |
| 4 | Alabama | 17-3 | 1,342 | 4 |
| 5 | Florida | 18-2 | 1,278 | 5 |
| 6 | Houston | 16-3 | 1,242 | 7 |
| 7 | Michigan State | 17-2 | 1,170 | 8 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 17-3 | 1,149 | 6 |
| 9 | Marquette | 17-3 | 1,068 | 10 |
| 10 | Purdue | 16-5 | 892 | 11 |
| 11 | Kansas | 14-5 | 877 | 12 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 14-5 | 858 | 9 |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 15-5 | 775 | 13 |
| 14 | Mississippi State | 16-4 | 715 | 14 |
| 15 | St. John’s | 17-3 | 588 | 20 |
| 16 | Oregon | 16-4 | 448 | 15 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 16-4 | 440 | 18 |
| 18 | Illinois | 14-6 | 384 | 17 |
| 19 | Memphis | 16-4 | 383 | 24 |
| 20 | Missouri | 16-4 | 352 | 22 |
| 21 | Louisville | 15-5 | 346 | 25 |
| 22 | Texas Tech | 15-4 | 308 | NR |
| 23 | Ole Miss | 15-5 | 215 | 16 |
| 24 | Vanderbilt | 16-4 | 132 | NR |
| 25 | UConn | 14-6 | 131 | 19 |
Also receiving votes: Michigan 129, Maryland 116, Utah St. 99, Clemson 92, Arizona 47, Saint Mary’s 45, Gonzaga 34, Texas 22, Creighton 12, Baylor 8, New Mexico 4, VCU 4, West Virginia 3, Oklahoma 2, Bradley 1, UCLA 1.
