The Florida Gators defeated the Missouri Tigers 66-65 in Columbia on Wednesday afternoon. Both of these teams had tough years thus far, but they are still young and perhaps even bound for a run in March. This game was originally scheduled to be played in the night, but snow affected the timing; the pre-ponement may have affected the outcome of this game, but both squads came ready to play. Here’s a quick recap of this SEC thriller.
First Half: Florida Comes Out Hot
The Gators were striking beyond the arc to begin the game, and Myreon Jones was a big part of that. He finished the game with 18 points, but the transfer appeared to suffer from injury in this game. Still, Missouri stayed close to Florida, and the Tigers went into halftime only down by two.
Niels Lane was a great force defensively, but his impact doesn’t appear on the stat sheet. While the Gators’ offense was great from the three-point line, Florida’s forwards tended to struggle with inside shots to start the game. Surprisingly enough, Tyree Appleby had no points in the first half.
Second Half: Missouri Takes the Lead, but Florida Responds
Florida struggled from the field in the second half, and Missouri took advantage from the start. Amari Davis, Kobe Brown, and Ronnie DeGray III showed great energy, and it would’ve been tough for the Gators to claw out a win if not for the efforts from Appleby.
Appleby finished the game with 17 points, but he was especially valuable during the final minutes. Florida was down by three, and Appleby made a great defensive effort leading to a fast break and trip to the free-throw line. He was flawless from the line, and he made the game-winning free throws to give the Gators their fourteenth win of the season.
Concluding Thoughts
Head coach Mike White aims to make his fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance this season, and he has to do it without his best player for the second straight year. The injuries of Jason Jitoboh, Colin Castleton, and others could’ve had negatively impacted the Gators, but they responded in a strong manner. Now, Florida is back in the middle of the pack of the SEC.