Florida Gators up to No. 2/2 in top 25 polls; updated S-curve and RPI standings

The 15th regular-season editions of the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches’ Poll were released on Monday with the Syracuse Orange sticking around as the No. 1-ranked team in the country. Syracuse received 64-of-65 first-place votes from the AP voters and all 32 first-place votes from the coaches.

The Florida Gators (23-2, 12-0 SEC) – fresh off a pair of difficult road victories – 67-58 over Tennessee on Tuesday and 69-59 against Kentucky on Saturday – moved up one spot to No. 2 in the AP top 25 and two spots to No. 2 in the USA Today rankings.

Florida checked in with 1,543 points (+66) in the AP poll and 752 points (+41) in the USA Today top 25. The Gators at No. 2 first achieved their highest ranking since Feb. 4, 2013 (No. 2).

Check out the complete top 25 rankings and see where UF stands…after the break!

UF’s 2013-14 opponents in italics. Wins in blue; losses in red.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
This Week 1-5: Syracuse (64), Florida (1), Wichita State, Arizona, Duke
6-10: San Diego State, Cincinnati, Kansas, Villanova, Saint Louis
11-15: Creighton, Louisville, Michigan State, Virginia, Iowa
16-20: Wisconsin, Iowa State, Kentucky, Texas, Michigan
21-25: UConn, Memphis, UCLA, Ohio State, Gonzaga

Last Week 1-5: Syracuse (65), Arizona, Florida, Wichita State, San Diego State
6-10: Villanova, Kansas, Duke, Michigan State, Cincinnati
11-15: Iowa State, Saint Louis, Louisville, Kentucky, Michigan
16-20: Iowa, Virginia, Creighton, Texas, Memphis
21-25: Wisconsin, Ohio State, SMU, UConn, Pittsburgh

USA TODAY COACHES’ POLL
This Week 1-5: Syracuse (32), Florida, Wichita State, Arizona, Louisville
6-10: Duke, San Diego State, Kansas, Cincinnati, Saint Louis
11-15: Villanova, Creighton, Virginia, Michigan State, Iowa
16-20: Kentucky, Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Michigan
21-25: UConn, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Memphis, UCLA

Last Week 1-5: Syracuse (32), Wichita State, Arizona, Florida, San Diego State
6-10: Villanova, Kansas, Louisville, Duke, Michigan State
11-15: Cincinnati, Saint Louis, Kentucky, Iowa State, Iowa
16-20: Virginia, Creighton, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State
21-25: Wisconsin, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, Oklahoma
* UConn was the first team out of the poll last week.

S-CURVE AND RPI STANDINGS

By Jake Sillick – OnlyGators.com Contributor

With the 2014 NCAA Tournament fast approaching, focus turns to selecting and bracketing the event. To many, this may seem like a mysterious process, but the NCAA actually accomplishes it in three phases: selecting the field, ranking the field and then placing those chosen teams on the bracket. The NCAA adds 36 at-large teams to the 32 league champions, ranks all 68 teams in order and then puts them into a seed list called an “S-curve” (it snakes right to left, then left to right, as seen below).

Criteria used for rankings teams are as follows:
» RPI rank
» Strength of schedule rank (overall and non-conference)
» Record vs. RPI top 25, RPI top 50, and RPI top 100 opponents
» Bad losses (typically against teams ranked 150+ in RPI)
» Rankings from computer systems (KenPom, Sagarin, etc.)
» Road/neutral-site records
» “Eye test” (personal opinions from watching games)

Here is how Florida stands is in the aforementioned criteria:
» RPI: 4th (+)
» SOS: 24th overall, 19th non-conference
» Record vs. RPI top 25: 2-2 | vs. RPI top 50: 5-2 (+) vs. RPI top 100: 11-2 (+)
» Bad losses: none (+)
» Computer rankings: top-three in most systems (+)
» Road/neutral-site record: 9-2 (+)

The first four teams (No. 1 seeds) determine the regional match-ups. Teams are then placed into the region closest to them (based on availability). Being ranked No. 1, No. 5, No. 9 or No. 14 is best for the top seed on the first four lines. When a team in the top 16 is placed, a sub-regional site is also assigned based on availability (each site can be assigned twice).

What does this mean for the Gators? It is almost a certainty that the Gators will play in Orlando, FL for the second third rounds. There is also a high probability that as a No. 1 or high No. 2 seed, UF will play in the South region in Memphis, TN.

If Florida…
» Finishes 18-0 in SEC play, regardless of performance in the league tournament, it will be a No. 1 seed.
» Finishes 17-1 in SEC play, it will be a No. 1 seed with only one SEC Tournament win needed.
» Finishes 16-2 in SEC play, an appearance in the SEC Tournament final will be necessary to achieve a No. 1 seed, otherwise it will finish with a No. 2 seed.
» Worst case: Even with seven-straight losses to end the season, the Gators would receive no worse than a No. 4 seed in the tournament.

NCAA RPI Standings

RPI Top 25 Wins
vs. Kansas (1)
at Kentucky (13)
RPI Top 25 Losses
at Wisconsin (6)
at UConn (25)
Record: 2-2

RPI 26-50 Wins
vs. Memphis [New York, NY] (34)
vs. Missouri (38)
vs. Richmond (39)
Record: 5-2

RPI 50-100 Wins
vs/at Tennessee [two games] (54)
vs. Florida State (61)
vs. Middle Tennessee (74)
at Arkansas (75)
vs. Georgia (88)
Record: 11-2