Dan Werner scored 16 points, Alex Tyus added 15 and No. 13 Florida beat Florida A&M 80-59 on Tuesday night. Vernon Macklin finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Gators, who improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2005. Christopher Walker led the Rattlers (0-9) with 19 points and six rebounds.
Unranked to start the season, Florida jumped into the middle of the Associated Press' poll Monday after beating rival Florida State, upsetting then-No. 2 Michigan State three days later and knocking off Rutgers in the championship game of the Legends Classic in New Jersey.
It was the program's best week since winning a second consecutive NCAA championship in Atlanta in April 2007. The Gators have been ranked four times in the 33 months since, but never stayed in the poll very long.
Coach Billy Donovan said he thought his team was mature enough now - Florida has four upperclassmen - to handle success better than it has in the last two seasons. The Gators showed a little of that maturity against Florida A&M.