Florida Gators up slightly in new top 25 polls

The 12th editions of the 2011-12 regular season USA Today/ESPN and Associated Press Top 25 Polls were released on Monday, and the Kentucky Wildcats (19-1, 5-0 SEC) held on to the No. 1 spot in both rankings, receiving the vast majority of votes as the top team in the country.

The Florida Gators rose a few spots to No. 11 and No. 12 in the respective polls on the heels of consecutive victories one the road at Ole Miss and at home against a ranked Mississippi State team. Florida is one of three/four Southeastern Conference teams listed in both rankings.

The Gators also earned a league award for the first time in weeks with freshman guard Bradley Beal picking up SEC Freshman of the Week honors after shooting 62.5 percent and averaging 14 points, three rebounds and 2.5 assists in a pair of games on Thursday and Saturday. Beal scored a game-high 19 points and hit three of his four attempts from beyond the arc to lead Florida past MSU on Saturday.

[EXPAND Click to expand and view the complete top 25 polls.]USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES POLL
This Week 1-5: Kentucky (31), Syracuse, Ohio State, Missouri, Duke
6-10: Baylor/North Carolina, Kansas, Murray State, Michigan State
11-15: Florida, Creighton, UNLV, Georgetown, Marquette
16-20: St. Mary’s, San Diego State, Virginia, Mississippi State, Indiana/Wisconsin
22-25: Michigan, Harvard, Florida State, Louisville

Last Week 1-5: Syracuse (31), Kentucky, Baylor, Duke, Missouri
6-10: Ohio State, Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan State, Murray State
11-15: Connecticut, Georgetown, Indiana, Florida, Mississippi State
16-20: San Diego State, Virginia, Creighton, Michigan, UNLV
21-25: Louisville, Marquette, Saint Mary’s, Harvard, Illinois

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
This Week 1-5: Kentucky (63), Syracuse (2), Ohio State, Missouri, North Carolina
6-10: Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Murray State
11-15: UNLV, Florida, Creighton, Georgetown, Marquette
16-20: Virginia, San Diego State, St. Mary’s, Wisconsin, Indiana
21-25: Florida State, Mississippi State, Michigan, Gonzaga, Vanderbilt

Last Week 1-5: Kentucky (61), Missouri (2), Syracuse (2), Ohio State, Kansas
6-10: Baylor, North Carolina, Duke, Georgetown, Michigan State
11-15: Murray State, UNLV, San Diego State, Florida, Creighton
16-20: Indiana, Marquette, Mississippi State, Virginia, Michigan
21-25: St. Mary’s, Kansas State, Florida State, Connecticut, Wisconsin

*Numbers in parenthesis represent first-place votes.[/EXPAND]