Florida’s opening week did nothing to shake its place near the top of ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.
After winning its first two games of the season, the Gators sit No. 2 in the latest BPI update with a rating of 22.0. That leaves Florida 2.4 points behind Duke, which holds the top spot after also starting the regular season 2-0.
Florida’s profile in the metric is a little more mixed beneath the headline ranking. The Gators’ offensive rating is 11.4, down 0.4 from the previous update and good for fourth nationally.
Illinois leads that category at 12.4, followed by Duke at 11.8 and Texas at 11.5. On the other side of the ball, Florida checks in at 10.6 defensively, a 0.9-point jump that puts it second only to Duke’s 12.6.
The projections still point to a strong season. ESPN’s model now has Florida at 25.4-4.6 overall, up by half a win, and 14.3-3.7 in SEC play, an increase of 0.2 wins. The Gators also carry a 64.4% chance to win the SEC title, which is up 0.8%, and the schedule currently ranks as the 19th-toughest after previously being listed ninth-hardest.
ESPN describes the BPI this way: “The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward,” ESPN explains. “BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is.
Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team’s W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections.”
Florida is also expected to stay at No. 1 in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 after the first week of play. In the Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings, the Gators remain No. 2 with a plus-34.00 net rating, just 0.83 points behind Duke’s plus-34.83.
The week ahead sends Florida to Tallahassee for its only true road game before SEC play begins. The Gators face FSU on Tuesday night, then come back home Friday to host Merrimack.
Basketball Power Index top 25 after Week 1: Duke Blue Devils
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Kentucky has won four of the last five meetings, which only adds to the pressure on a Florida offense looking for answers on the road. The Wildcats are coming off a loss to Tennessee, and the betting market has moved only slightly ahead of kickoff, but the bigger question for Florida is whether it can find enough rhythm to keep this one from turning into another frustrating afternoon. [Read more 🡒]