Florida Basketball Secures First SEC Road Victory At Missouri

The Florida Gators will bring home their first SEC win on the road after the 79-67 win at the Missouri Tigers on Saturday night.

The men’s basketball win improved the Gators to 12-6 overall and 2-3 in league play, while the Tigers, who suffered their fifth consecutive defeat, drop to 8-10 and 0-5.

SEC road dub 🐊#GoGators | presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/tK3iYZNfmi

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 21, 2024

Finding a Rhythm

The first half, in comparison to the second, was more competitive. The score fluctuated , as eight lead changes occurred, as well as seven ties.

The Gators struggled to deliver offensively. In the first few minutes of play the Gators committed three turnovers and had trouble creating a rhythm.

Missouri guard Tamar Bates was a great offensive force for the Tigers, finishing with a career-high 36  points. The Gators defense was put to work against Bates, and got down a solid rhythm going into the second half.

After made free throws from Florida’s Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel, and a dunk from Micah Handlogten in the last minutes of the first half, the Gators took the lead at the break.

At the break #GoGators pic.twitter.com/xFTJZYfLqx

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 21, 2024

Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. had the team high at the half with nine points.

Strong Second

Compared to the defense shown in their last matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers, the Gators stepped up and were able to deliver defensively.

The Gators’ strong defensive play allowed them to attain a comfortable lead.

Bates started off the second half strong for Missouri, but the Gators contested as they began their strong offensive attack.

After layups from Samuel and a 3-pointer from junior Will Richard, Florida got its groove for a 47-43 lead.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1748891938982629378

This combined with Florida turning up the defense, caused Missouri coach Dennis Gates to switch his team to play a zone defense.

From this point, Florida held the lead for the remainder of the matchup thanks to strong defense.

Samuel led five Gators in double-figure scoring with 17 points. Clayton Jr. followed with 15 points and Handlogten recorded his second double-double this season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Richard had 13 points and Pullin scored 11.

Next Up

After two road games this past week, Florida returns home for two games: Against Mississippi State  (13-5, 2-3) on Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) and at noon Saturday against Georgia (13-5, 3-2) on ESPN2. Both games will also be carried on ESPN 98.1-FM and AM-850 WRUF.