Florida vs. Missouri score, takeaways: No. 4 Gators avenge loss, rout No. 21 Tigers in SEC Tournament

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

No. 4 Florida Gators basketball entered Friday night having only failed to defeat two teams it played during the 2024-25 season. Head coach Todd Golden’s squad left its first game of the 2025 SEC Tournament with only one loss still needing to be avenged.

Florida pulled away late in the second half for a definitive 95-81 win over the No. 21 Missouri Tigers to atone for a difficult 83-82 loss suffered back on Jan. 14 in Gainesville, Florida. Taking advantage of a double bye as the No. 2 seed in the event, the Gators have now advanced to the semifinal round of the SEC Tournament with eyes on winning the program’s first crown since 2014.

Let’s take a look at what went down Friday night with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … redshirt senior guard Alijah Martin drained a 3-pointer off a missed free throw before senior G Will Richard drove the baseline for a jam to complete a 8-0 run and push the Gators ahead 18 points with 2 minutes to play. UF ended the game on a 21-10 scoring stretch.

Mizzou scored seven of the first nine points to open the second half as Florida’s immense struggles with ball security continued with four turnovers in the first 6:24. Suddenly, the Gators’ 14-point lead was down to four with 13 minutes remaining, and shortly thereafter, the Tigers entered the bonus. Continued struggles with turnovers and fouling saw Florida’s lead again cut to five inside of 8 minutes, but it would never falter further.

The Gators were able to take advantage of their opponent’s personnel losses in the frontcourt by leaning on their big men in the game’s latter stages. Sophomore forwards Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh combined to score 11 straight points for UF as its guards struggled to create offense. Richard and senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. were scoreless for the first 12:40 of the second half after combining for 30 points in the opening period.

First half focus: Florida started with a 15-2 lead on the back of three triples, including two from Richard. The Gators actually opened 5 of 5 from downtown while building a 14-point lead midway through the period, but that quickly evaporated due to some of the sloppiest and laziest basketball they have played all season. Lowlighted by eight turnovers in just over 12 minutes, the advantage dipped to a pair of baskets. UF nevertheless powered through the end of the period using a 9-2 stretch before scoring seven of the last 10 points to take a 13-point lead at the break. This despite Florida giving the ball away twice more to total 10 turnovers at halftime. Clayton Jr. (17 points, 4 assists) and Richard (13 points) both matched their game averages in the opening 20 minutes.

Exceptional efforts: Four Gators scored 16+ points in the game. Clayton led the way with 18 points and 6 assists but struggled mightily with ball control coughing up 5 turnovers for the fourth time this season. Richard finished with 17 points but shot 6 of 13 from the floor and 3 of 8 from downtown, while Martin matched the scoring total with a far more efficient effort (7 of 9). Haugh was tremendous in the second half ending the game with 16 points while going 10 of 12 from the charity stripe, and Condon got it done on both ends with 9 points and 8 boards.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 12-5 all-time against Missouri, 4-1 under Golden … the Gators are now 50-53 all-time in the SEC Tournament, 4-2 under Golden … UF is seeking its fifth SEC Tournament title, first since 2014 … Florida under Golden improved to 53-9 when leading at halftime (23-0 this season), 63-5 when leading with 5 minutes left (26-0), 49-10 when outrebounding an opponent (22-3), 47-8 when shooting 45% or better from the field (20-2), 61-7 when outshooting an opponent (25-1), 55-8 when outshooting an opponent from 3-point range (25-0), and 45-16 when 4+ players score in double figures (19-2) … Clayton extended his program record making a 3-pointer in his 53rd consecutive game

What it means: The Gators got the job done at the end of the day, but it was far closer than it should have been late given UF’s immense talent edge. Florida committed 16 turnovers and 18 fouls in the first 32:15 before locking down with no turnovers and only 3 fouls over the final 7:20. That had everything to do with the game-ending 21-10 scoring stretch that iced the contest and sent the Gators into the semifinals. Still, the Tigers stayed in the game based on those miscues (22 points off turnovers) and dominated the offensive glass (18-9) while attempting 13 more shots in the game. Against a better opponent, UF may well have lost that contest … then again, it still won by 14 on Friday.

More importantly, the Quadrant 1 victory over a top 25 opponent locked up a No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament for Florida. While Golden has said the Gators will go all-out for the SEC Tournament crown, any other wins this season before March Madness truly begins will be just whipped cream and a cherry on top of the sundae the program has created for the postseason.

What’s next? Florida will play either No. 5 Alabama in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. Kentucky will be the lone team this season the Gators have played but not defeated unless they match up in the NCAA Tournament.