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Just 48 hours ago, five undefeated teams remained in the sport. That number began shrinking Tuesday night, when Iowa State lost at Kansas, and dropped again Wednesday night when Vanderbilt fell at Texas.
So now we’re down to three.
Final score: Texas 80, Vanderbilt 64.
The Commodores, previously unbeaten, shot just 37% from the field, allowed Texas to shoot 53% and never found a rhythm in their first road game of the season against a team currently ranked in the top 40 at KenPom.com. Consequently, Vanderbilt is now 16-1 entering Saturday’s matchup with reigning national champion Florida.
Vandy dropped to No. 10 in Thursday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily rankings, while Arizona remained No. 1 for the fifth consecutive day. Florida is No. 15, making Vanderbilt and Florida the two highest-ranked SEC teams in the Top 25 And 1. They are also the two programs KenPom now projects to finish tied atop the conference standings.
Yes, Florida — one of the teams many labeled disappointing after a 5-4 start — is now 12-5 and projected to claim a share of the SEC regular-season title.
Thomas Haugh, a reserve forward on last season’s championship team, has emerged as the Gators’ best player. The 6-foot-9 junior has scored at least 21 points in three of his past four games and is averaging 17.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 33.9 minutes per contest. He ranks fourth in KenPom’s SEC Player of the Year race, trailing only Labaron Philon (Alabama), Tyler Tanner (Vanderbilt) and Keyshawn Hall (Auburn).
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
1
Utah State
8
Vanderbilt