ATHENS — Georgia basketball is back in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in nearly a year.

The Bulldogs (9-1) are coming off an impressive 84-65 win on Saturday in Atlanta over Cincinnati and next play at 7 p.m. on Thursday against Western Carolina.

Georgia came in at No. 25 in the AP Top 25 poll released on Monday after being fourth among other teams receiving votes outside of the AP Top 25 last Monday.

Mike White, in his fourth year leading the program since being hired away from Florida, promised in the preseason it would be a faster, higher-scoring Georgia team this season.

“We’ll be in the open floor more, we’ll push tempo a lot more, we won’t play as big, we’ll play smaller lineups, four guard lineups, and lineups where four guys can shoot it,” White said last summer.

“If some of these younger guys can make a jump this fall, than we can play five guys on the perimeter a little bit. We’ll be a better passing team and be a better shooting team.”

That’s what has happened so far, and that recipe has produced a Georgia men’s basketball team that was projected as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament last week in Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology” on ESPN.

UGA currently carries the No. 17 “NET” ranking, which is a computerize model of ratings utilized by the NCAA tournament selection committee.

The Bulldogs are also No. 26 among the teams receiving votes in the USA Today coaches poll.

Prior to Monday, Georgia was most recently ranked in the Top 25 last Jan. 13, when it was No. 23 in the AP and USA Today coaches poll.

Last season’s team, which made the NCAA tournament for the first time in 10 years, earned the program’s first Top 25 ranking since 2011 after starting the season 14-2 overall and 2-1 in SEC play with wins over No. 6 Kentucky and No. 17 Oklahoma.

The Bulldogs have made the most of a schedule this season that, to this point, ranks 205th in the nation.

Georgia currently lead all 365 Division 1 programs in four categories:

• Scoring offense (98.3 points per game)

• Scoring margin (+27.7 points per game)

• Fastbreak scoring (+27.6 points per game)

• Blocked shots (8.5 per game).

Georgia is also tops in the nation in the unofficial category of percentage of field goals that are dunks (22.4).

White has utilized a deep playing rotation that features the Bulldogs as the only Power Conference team with an 11-man rotation — all 11 of those players have appeared in every game and averages double-digit minutes per outing.

Georgia’s strength will quickly be tested as it opens the SEC portion of its schedule at home against No. 21 Auburn at 1 p.m. on Jan 3 before a road trip to defending national champ and current-No. 23 (tie) Florida at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6.