Missouri bounced from SEC Tournament by high-octane Florida

Eli Hoff, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Mar 14, 2025

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Down its leading scorer and battling one of the nation's hottest teams, Missouri men's basketball bowed out of the Southeastern Conference Tournament with a quarterfinal loss to Florida.

The No. 7 seed Tigers fell behind the No. 2 seed Gators immediately, making the second half competitive until they were buried by a late Florida flurry to fall, 95-81.

Mizzou power forward Mark Mitchell did not play, a precautionary absence after hurting his right knee in MU's previous tournament game. Short on manpower and unable to find the offensive juice to compete with UF's recent run of high-octane play, the Tigers were no match.

Four Missouri guards scored in double figures: Tamar Bates (16 points), Anthony Robinson II (13), Tony Perkins (13) and Caleb Grill (11).

Guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 18 points to lead the Gators. Four UF players scored 16 or more points.

Florida opened the game by scoring 10 points before the Tigers even attempted a shot, thanks to an early flagrant foul against MU and a turnover. A 9-0 run triggered by freshman reserves T.O. Barrett and Peyton Marshall checking into the game cut the Gators' lead to four points, but they swiftly rebuilt a double-digit lead.

UF led 50-37 at halftime, marking just the third time this season that Missouri conceded 50 or more points in the first half.

Clayton left the game with about 14 minutes left, holding his hamstring as he limped off the floor. That aligned with a Mizzou run that saw Robinson make a floater through contact to cut the UF lead to four points.

Even without their star, the Gators staved off the comeback bid. Clayton returned to the action after four minutes of game time. One minute after he returned, a transition alley-oop put Florida back up by double digits — leading 74-64 with 9:01 to play.

Not long after, Florida fans were gator-chomping in the Bridgestone Arena stands.

Takeaways

Losing to Florida, which is on course to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament next week, is unlikely to dent the Tigers' seeding resume. Mizzou entered Friday on the border between a No. 6 and No. 7 seed and will stay in that range, albeit with a No. 7 next to its name looking like the more probable outcome.

Mitchell went through MU's walkthrough and warm-ups but was ultimately held out of the contest. "I have elected to not play Mark tonight in order to prevent any further injury and allow his knee to fully recover and be 100 percent," coach Dennis Gates said in a pregame statement. Center Josh Gray, who fouled out with 7:20 left in the game, started instead of Mitchell. Marshall and forward Aidan Shaw saw more action than usual.

Florida has the makings of a Final Four team, and that relentless composure seemed to be a factor in helping the Gators find separation. Often, a Mizzou mistake — whether a turnover or a badly missed shot — was punished by a UF bucket on the other end. There are certainly aspects of the Tigers' performance to critique, but the game may have largely shown the extent to which Florida is playing solid basketball during the most important month of the year.

Key stat

Less than 24 hours after holding Mississippi State to 36.4% shooting from the field, Missouri ran into a much more efficient offense in its second tournament matchup. Florida made 63% of its field goals, which is the best any team has shot from the floor against the Tigers. The previous high came from Auburn and Oklahoma, which each posted field-goal percentages of 57.1% in their wins over Missouri.

Key moment

Florida scoring the first 10 points of the game established the line of scrimmage — and a gap that Mizzou never could quite close. Key to that sequence was a flagrant foul called on Gray, who grabbed hold of Will Richard's face while trying to hold off the UF defender. That foul alone led to five points for the Gators — two from free throws and three from a triple Richard made on the possession that came with the offense.

Up next

The loss eliminates Missouri from the SEC Tournament. The Tigers will return to Columbia and await the NCAA Tournament bracket reveal during Sunday's selection show.