The national champions are back in the national picture.
After spending much of the season unranked, UF (18-3, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) cracked the polls Monday, coming in at No. 20 in the Associated Press poll.
UF was ranked 25th in the second poll of the season, but a convincing 65-51 loss to in-state rival Florida State sent the Gators off the charts for more than a month.
They have now won seven of their last eight games and are coming off a dominating 86-64 victory against then-No.14 Vanderbilt, who has since fallen to No. 19.
The revamped Gators have appreciated the surprising success so far this season, especially in conference play. Even UF's players never saw its great conference record coming.
"What are we now, 5-1?" center Marreese Speights said. "I bet no one, not even Coach (Billy Donovan), expected that."
In recent years, UF has been a staple in the polls, and after finishing the last two seasons ranked No. 1, many outsiders felt this group belongs on the list. But voters and experts have been skeptical of this new squad devoid of the big names that defined UF's rise to the top.
Even Donovan himself questioned his team, pointing to its inconsistencies and youth as holes he wasn't sure he could fill.
"Any preseason ranking on our team or any ranking of where we're supposed to be in the SEC to me is completely unrealistic," Donovan said before UF's opener against Flagler, "just because none of these guys have played, so who really knows."
Then UF failed to impress when the opportunities arose. The Gators suffered two lopsided losses to FSU and Ohio State and a loss to a ranked Mississippi team on the road.
The Gators needed a signature win, and they got it Sunday afternoon against Vanderbilt.
Now, the question becomes, how will this inexperienced group react?
Donovan expressed concern over the fragile egos of his players, who will now face success foreign to many of them.
"Sometimes I think the most difficult thing for a young basketball team to handle is success," he said. "We're not that good that we think we can show up in practice, show up in games and just win.
"But if we want to be a good team, a good program, we're going to be ranked. We want to be ranked. It's recognition that you have a good team, but we need to be able to handle those expectations. I don't know if we deserve to be there or not, but we need to keep things in perspective."
The Gators have enjoyed flying under the radar so far this season.
UF's most experienced player, junior Walter Hodge, wondered if the team would be better off without the recognition.
"When we're not ranked we stay focused," Hodge said. "Teams don't think about us. I bet all the teams in the nation just come here thinking they can beat us."
As the Gators move forward, Donovan hopes the national attention will help the team improve. He noted that UF still has a way to go before it reaches where it needs to be.
"It's fantasy land," Donovan said. "You get wrapped up in all this stuff, but the bottom line is, it's not Selection Sunday. You have to go play games. You have to go play."
