Recap: Florida basketball beats Missouri Tigers in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday

USA Today

15-03-2025

Recap: Florida basketball beats Missouri Tigers in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday
Florida never trailed in its SEC Tournament Quarterfinals win over Missouri. But that does not mean it was easy.
The Gators scored 10 straight points from the opening horn and used that early spark to power the team to a 95-81 win inside Bridgestone Arena on Friday night. Todd Golden has to be proud of his team's resilience, but they did miss some opportunities to break the game open.
The Orange and Blue got a boost before the game even began when it was announced that Mizzou's top scorer, forward Mark Mitchell, was benched due to concerns about his knee injury and the desire to rest him until the NCAA Tournament. His 14 points per game average would have been enough to tie the game according to the final score, but it was not to be.
While Florida did manage to score 50 points — while the Tigers scored just 37 — by the end of the first half, its efforts were marred by 10 turnovers, which was an issue that continued into the second half. That should not come as too big of a surprise against the conference's leader in steals per game.
Missouri came out of the locker room in the second half firmly resisting the Gators, but could not slow their opponent's push to a 14-point lead. Still, the Tigers would bend but never broke, chipping the lead down to just four at the 13:30 mark. That was also when Walter Clayton was briefly sidelined with what appeared to be cramps as the Gator Nation held its collective breath.
Florida regained the two-digit lead four minutes later despite having five turnovers up to that point (while Missouri had zero). Things at this slowed down into a grind but Golden's gang got a gift when Josh Grey fouled out at 7:20, and by the 4:30 mark, Clayton had returned and the Gators grabbed the double-digit lead once again. There was no looking back from that point on.
Four Florida players finished with 15 or more points while the team as a whole shot 61.8% (34-of-55) from the field overall, 37.5% (9-of-24) from beyond the arc and 78.3% (18-of-23) from the free throw line. Despite some sloppy moments, it boded very well for this squad in its next games as well as at the Big Dance.
Key Players
Florida:
Walter Clayton Jr. - 18 points (6-8 overall, 3-4 3pt), six assists, three rebounds, two steals and a block
Will Richard - 17 points (6-13, 3-18), three rebounds, three assists and a steal
Alijah Martin - 17 points (7-9, 2-4), three assists and two rebounds
Missouri:
Tamar Bates - 16 points (7-18, 1-4), three rebounds and an assist
Anthony Robinson II - 13 points (5-8, 0-1), three assists, two rebounds and two steals
Tony Perkins - 13 points (5-8, 0-0), four rebounds and three assists
Florida's Key Stats:
28 bench points
48 points in the paint
16 points off turnovers
15 second-chance points
9 offensive rebounds
18 fast break points
Next up for Florida
The Gators will play the winner of the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats matchup following this game. That will be played on Saturday, March 15, 25 minutes after the No. 1 Auburn Tigers vs. No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers finish their face-off, which begins at 1 p.m. ET.
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