MBB Live Thread: Mizzou vs. Florida

Live updates from the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville.

First Half

• Josh Gray will replace Mark Mitchell in the starting lineup. Otherwise, it’s the same starters as usual with Anthony Robinson II, Tony Perkins, Tamar Bates and Trent Pierce getting the nod tonight.
• Not an ideal start for Josh Gray. Walter Clayton Jr. poked the ball away from him, and he smacked Clayton Jr. in the face trying to retrieve it. A common foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1. Florida leads 5-0 with just 47 seconds gone.
• Aidan Shaw and Caleb Grill sub in for Robinson II and Gray with 18:36 left. Bates just threw a pass out-of-bounds. Will Richard then canned his third shot of the game, and Florida leads 10-0 with 18:25 left. Dennis Gates calls timeout.
• WHOA! Hey there, Trent!
• Mizzou trails 15-6 at the under-16 timeout. The Tigers were able to create a couple of easy(ish) looks inside, but the Gators have been a machine on offense. They’ve hit five of their first seven shots from the field, including all three attempts from beyond the arc.
• Perkins has done a nice job of permeating the paint early on, just like he did last game against Mississippi State
• Walter Clayton Jr. just shook two black jerseys and drove for an easy layup, and Gates calls another timeout. Florida leads 27-13 with 11 minutes left; the Gators are as hot as their jersey color, shooting 9 of 12 from the field and 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. Their plus-15 in three-pointers, as the Tigers are 0 of 4 from downtown.
• Marques Warrick just checked into the game, and he’s already drained a three-pointer and registered a steal. He was fouled on the ensuing layup attempt, and he went 1 of 2 from the charity stripe. The sparkplug strikes again!
• T.O. Barrett and Peyton Marshall check into the game just prior to the 10-minute mark
• A BallisLife mixtape might’ve just been born before out eyes. With Florida students chanting “overrated”, Peyton Marshall sinks a turnaround floater. Mizzou has cut the lead to five with just under nine minutes left.
• A frenetic back-and-forth (with a few more back-and-forths) leads to another three-pointer from Richard. Florida leads 33-24 with 7:21 left in the first half. That sequence might require a good bit of Gatorade. Energy had depleted on both sides except for Richard, who’s up to 11 points.
• Showtime Gators in Nashville. That was a gnarly alley-oop slam from Clayton Jr. Florida leads 37-26 with just over five minutes left.
• Gray just had a Shaqtin’-a-Foot. He forced another lane violation at the charity stripe, then sank the bonus free throw. At the other end, he came up with a steal, but he completely blew the layup. Micah Handlogten scored a putback layup on the ensuing possession. Florida leads 41-30 with 3:53 left.
• HALFTIME: Florida 50, Mizzou 37. The Gators have shot a blistering 65% from the field, including a 50% clip from downtown (7-of-14). Clayton Jr. and Richard have combined for 30 points. The Tigers are going to need to crank it up offensively in the second half or tighten up on defense. Granted, UF was doing an excellent job of moving the ball, both in the halfcourt and in transition. Dennis Gates said yesterday that the Gators are a No. 1 seed-caliber team; they’re sure playing like it so far.

Second half

• Good start for Mizzou, as a Bates layup is followed by a steal and two free throws from Perkins. Florida leads 50-41 with a minute gone in the second half.
• Mizzou trails 62-51 with 14:58 left. The Gators and Tigers have gone back-and-forth with scoring runs, and right now, it seems to be MU’s turn. Grill knocked down his first three-pointer of the game, then was fouled on his next attempt. He’ll have three shots at the charity stripe after the timeout.
• We’ve got a wild turn of events. Mizzou has cut the lead to four with just under 13 minutes left. Additionally, Clayton Jr. limped to the bench, appearing to grab his hamstring. He had 17 points.
• Florida leads 67-60 at the under-12 timeout. Mizzou is still hanging around.
• Alijah Martin slams home a fastbreak alley-oop, and Florida has extended the lead back to 10. The Tigers had made six of seven shots from the field, but the Gators have converted 10 of their last 13 shots from the field. Red-hotness has been quelled by white-hotness. While plenty of UF’s field goal makes have been around the rim, that’s still an absurd level of shot-making from the Gators. They’re 27 of 41 from the field, which is just under 66%, which is unreal.
• Florida leads 74-66 with 7:45 remaining. Money time feels near for Mizzou if it wants to overcome this deficit.
• Josh Gray has fouled out with 7:20 remaining in regulation
• With Gray and Mitchell out, Gates has gone small: Robinson II, Bates, Perkins, Crews and Grill are the five on the floor right now.
• An Alex Condon layup pushes Florida’s lead to 83-72. With Gray and Mitchell out, the Tigers’ smaller lineup has been exploited by the Gators down low. A flurry of makes might be the only way Mizzou gets back into this game.
• Condon looks like a giant among mortals in the paint. None of Mizzou’s guards have been able to stop him.
• Florida has extended its lead to 91-75 with just under two-and-a-half minutes left. The daggers feel like they’ve been plunged into MU’s heart.
• FINAL: Florida 95, Mizzou 81. Hot damn, the Gators are good. MU falls in the quarterfinals to a team that is most certainly a national title contender. The Tigers will find out their NCAA Tournament seeding this Sunday, which will likely be between 6-8.

Pregame Updates

Game Info

Missouri @ Florida

When | 6:00 p.m. CT

Where | Bridgestone Arena; Nashville, Tn.

TV | ESPN

Radio | Tiger Radio Network // Sirius/XM -119/199

ESPN win probability | 27.1% chance

5 Fan Questions

1. Can Tony Perkins replicate his performance from yesterday?
2. How many rebounds will Josh Gray have?
3. How many three-pointers will Caleb Grill and Jacob Crews make?
4. Will Anthony Robinson II have to get subbed out at any point due to foul trouble?
5. What will be the final score?