Florida Basketball Falls Out of AP Top 25

Despite plenty of preseason hype, the Gators have more questions than they do answers four games into their season.

All it took was two weeks for the hype train to crash.

After beginning the 2019-20 season as the nation's sixth-ranked hoops squad, the Florida Gators (2-2) have fallen out of the AP Top 25. 

With losses to the unranked Florida State Seminoles and University of Connecticut Huskies, paired with less-than-stellar wins over the UNF Ospreys and Towson Tigers, Gators basketball just isn't off to a hot start. 

No. 9 Kentucky, No. 19 Auburn, and No. 20 Tennessee represent the Southeastern Conference in the weekly poll.

Florida has been poor offensively, to say the least. Their 62.5 points per game ranks 313th of 353 qualifying college teams, unsurprisingly (and more importantly) standing alone at the bottom of the SEC. The Gators are shooting 38.4% from the floor, and a miserable 24.1% from beyond the arc. 

While the team has strung together solid defensive performances, having yet to allow more than 63 points in a game, this roster is simply too talented to be so inefficient on offense. Big-man Kerry Blackshear Jr. is averaging a double-double per game, yet clearly needs more touches in order for a better offensive flow.

The emergence of freshman wing Scottie Lewis has provided some hope for the young Gators' team. Lewis scored 15 points against Towson in his first start, going 5-for-8 and hitting two 3-point shots on four attempts.

However, the other young talents across the roster will have to step up in order for Florida to bounce back from a sloppy start to their season, but there's no promise that such a young team can flip the switch so quickly.