From the jump against two-seeded Florida, it looked like the Missouri Tigers were a step slow. Despite being a win-or-go-home game in the SEC tournament, Missouri just didn’t come out of the game with enough juice to win. Now, the Tigers are headed back to Columbia and will wait to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
The slow start set them back, but head coach Dennis Gates and his team didn’t go down without a fight. A gritty defensive stretch in the middle of the second half nearly brought the Tigers’ deficit down to a one-possession game, but Florida eventually responded with a run of its own.
Missouri did succeed in some categories that made the game close, especially on the offensive glass. Though they didn’t convert on many occasions, the Tigers kept giving themselves more opportunities to score. That rebounding effort will never hurt a team, especially when they have too many chances to count to get the score closer.
That being said, Florida simply had too many playmakers on both sides of the ball for Missouri to overcome. Whether it was the size advantage in the paint on offense or the perimeter shooting defending the other way, the Gators made more than enough plays to earn the result they did.
Here are three takeaways from Missouri’s 95-81 loss to the Florida Gators.
They might not have shot the best, rebounded the best or moved the ball the best, but the Missouri Tigers certainly gave themself more scoring opportunities than the Florida Gators. Recording 18 offensive rebounds and scoring 20 second-chance points helped keep the Tigers in the game, especially when shots weren’t falling in general.
“That definitely helped us stay in the game and close the gap because most of them resulted in either free throws or a quick stick back layup,” Missouri guard Tamar Bates said to the media following the game. “So, I mean, getting offensive rebounds is something that we emphasize. We emphasized it all season. So, I mean, we were able to execute that tonight.”
Missouri Tigers guard Tamar Bates (2) drives to the basket against Florida Gators forward Thomas Haugh (10) during the second half of their quarterfinal game of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 14, 2025. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
During a night where it seemed like nothing was falling for Missouri, the effort of the Tigers on the offensive glass was crucial. Compared to Florida’s nine offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points, that’s a five-point margin Missouri captured. Without it, a 14-point defeat would have been much worse.
That being said, the difference in shooting percentages between teams was vast. Florida shot 61.8% from the field and 37.5% from outside compared to Missouri’s 44.1% from the field and 25% from the perimeter. That also makes a difference in a loss, showing that an impressive effort by the Tigers just wasn’t enough to defeat the fourth best team in the country.
Florida got out to a hot shooting start in the first half, burying Missouri early on. As that hot shooting faded in the second half, the dominating physical presence of Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handglogten battered down the Tigers on offense. With at least two of those four on the court at all times, it made defending the paint and scoring in the interior a big ask.
That’s exactly where the talents of junior forward Mark Mitchell would have been nice. He was ruled out by Gates prior to tipoff after suffering a knee injury on Thursday against Mississippi State, but he would have been valuable to check the interior scoring and defending box against Florida.
“It was tough not having our leading scorer out there,” point guard Anthony Robinson II said. “But you know, we’re 18 strong and this next person up. So we believe in each other. We want everyone to be successful on our team and our connectivity off the court is what believes in 18-strong game.”
Florida forward Thomas Haugh (10) makes a pass out of the pressure of Missouri guard Aidan Shaw (23) and guard Marques Warrick (1) during the first half of their quarterfinal game of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 14, 2025. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The four big men combined for 36 points, 16 of which came from Haugh off the bench. 10 of those points came at the free throw line as well, finding himself in situations for 50-50 balls and hustle plays. He also grabbed seven rebounds and Condon eight.
Mitchell wouldn’t have solved every single one of these issues and can only guard and attack one person at a time. Missouri was forced to play a smaller lineup with center Josh Gray fouled out and others struggling, allowing Haugh, Condon and company to score easily in the post. At the very least, Mitchell would have been an extra body to shut down Florida’s size advantage.
On top of scoring 95 points and its trio of guards seemingly playing unstoppable basketball, Florida’s team defense was excellent. They forced nine Missouri turnovers and stayed solid in their defensive rotations, giving the Tigers one other thing to worry about.
Part of that impressive defensive performance came while defending Mirrouri’s outside shots. The Tigers only managed to attempt 16 three-point shots, making only four of them. The physical defense and closeout speed of Alijah Martin, Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard made getting perimeter shots off hard in general.
Missouri Tigers guard Tony Perkins (12) drives past Florida Gators guard Alijah Martin (15) during the second half of their quarterfinal game of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 14, 2025. / Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Gators weren’t afraid to press up into Tiger shooters. Especially with players like Caleb Grill and Jacob Crews who have no issue shooting over defenders, limiting the general space they had to shoot and trusting backside defensive help was what Todd Golden’s squad rolled with. In simple terms, it worked.
“If it was a big guarding and they were just hugged up on all the shooters, and like close enough to touch to where whether if we relocated or not, they just weren’t gonna leave whether it was (Caleb) Grill, (Jacob) Crews, myself, (Tony) Perkins, Ant(hony), I mean, they just their game plan was just to play one-on-one, two-o- two, and not leave shooters because we did shoot the ball really well against them the first time around,” Bates said.
Whatever Florida did on defense, it worked. Even when Missouri got open looks from the perimeter, they seemed out of rhythm because of prior intense closeouts. Florida is now set up for a run at the SEC championship after sending the Tigers home, getting it done in impressive fashion on both sides of the ball.
