ATHENS — Georgia basketball is back on the map, ranked in the AP Top 25 for a third consecutive week for the first time in nearly 23 years.

The Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0 SEC) are ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25, up five spots from last week’s ranking, on the strength of a 104-100 overtime win over Auburn on Saturday.

It’s the highest Georgia has been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since the program was coached by Jim Harrick and came in at No. 17 on Feb. 3, 2003 -- the most recent season UGA has been ranked three or more consecutive weeks in the poll.

Unbeaten teams Arizona (14-0), Michigan (13-0) and Iowa State (14-0) hold the top three spots in this week’s AP Top 25, with UConn (14-1) and Purdue (13-1) rounding out the top five.

Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0) is the SEC’s highest ranked AP Top 25 team, coming in at No. 11, while Alabama (11-3, 1-0) is at No. 13, Arkansas (11-3, 1-0) is No. 15 and then No. 18 Georgia is the league’s fourth-highest ranked team entering into this week’s games.

“Our guys have been so eager, probably like most teams in our league and throughout other leagues, at the highest level of college basketball,” UGA fourth-year coach Mike White said about the start of SEC play.

“We were playing a bunch of mid-majors through the holidays, and you can’t let the moment be too big.”

Georgia’s schedule strength jumped from 298th to 231st with the win over Auburn, and it figures to get another boost when the Bulldogs play at Florida (9-5, 0-1) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

“Our confidence comes from within, we know what we have in our locker room,” said Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, a transfer from Cal who scored 31 in the win over Auburn and leads the Bulldogs with 18.3 points per game this season.

“We knew what we were capable of before coming into the (Auburn) game, and we told each other before the game, let’s act like we’re supposed to win the game, let’s act like we’re supposed to be here.”

Georgia leads the nation in scoring offense (99.4 points per game), fast-break points (27.0 points per game) and blocked shots (8.0 blocks per game).

The Gators, featuring preseason All-SEC players Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Boogie Fland, were the media’s preseason pick to win the league.

Georgia — which didn’t have a player picked on the first, second or third team — were picked to finish 14th in the SEC.

White, who coached Florida from 2015-2022, leading the Gators to four NCAA tournaments and an Elite Eight appearance in 2017, said Georgia is looking forward to the opportunity to play the defending national champions.

“We’ll fly around, we’ll play hard, we’ll be prepared,” White said. “This team has a pretty healthy level of intrinsic confidence, and you’ll need that to be competitive down there against a team that’s coming off a national championship.”

Georgia split with Florida last season, losing in Gainesville 89-59 on Jan. 25 and then handing the Gators their last loss of last season, 88-83, on Feb. 25 in Athens.

“It’s nothing different than what we’ve just seen tonight (against Auburn),” said UGA guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender, who leads Georgia with 54 assists and a 40-percent 3-point shooting clip.

“They put their jerseys on like we put our jerseys on. We’re going to give them our best game and hope they bring it, too.”

Florida fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week after losing its SEC-opening game at Missouri on Saturday, 76-74, and is among other teams still receiving votes.

Georgia has lost six consecutive games in Gainesville, dating back to a 61-55 win on March 2, 2019, in Tom Crean’s first year leading the Bulldogs’ program.