The Gators have been building their reputation as one of the country’s elite teams all season, and this was their loudest declaration yet.
No. 10 Florida blasted No. 17 Missouri 83-52 at the O’Connell Center to give coach Billy Donovan his 400th win in 17 seasons at the school. Emboldened by a sellout crowd of 12,597, the Gators scored the first 11 points and were up 19-5 less than seven minutes into the game.
“I think they were a little shocked,” Florida center Patric Young said of the Tigers. “They came in here pretty amped up and thought they were one of the best teams in the SEC. They thought they really needed to win this game.
“To see that we could jump out on them just like that and get our fans going crazy — seeing them rattled like that just energized us more.”
The Gators (14-2, 4-0 in the SEC) led by double digits nearly the entire afternoon and were up by 20 or more over the final 7:48. They handed Missouri (13-4, 2-2) its most lopsided defeat since 2008.
The Tigers — playing without leading scorer Laurence Bowers due to a knee injury — started 3 of 14 from the field and finished at 32.7 percent, their worst game this season. They also committed 21 turnovers.
“We’ve got to keep getting better,” Donovan said. “It’s an everyday commitment to guard. Our guys are taking pride in it and they can see what happens when you’re committed to it.”
Missouri had been averaging 77 points per game.
Florida kept the Tigers scoreless for the opening 3:21 and shut them out again for a span of 3:52 near the middle of the first half. The Gators hit 13 of their first 17 shots to build a 29-12 lead.
They locked down Missouri for another three-minute stretch and drove their lead to 29.
“We don’t lose at home,” forward Will Yeguete said. “If we’re up 10, we want to be up 15. If we’re up 15, we want to be up 20. We just want a blowout. We want to keep making them give up. We want to make them think they can’t come back.
“I think everybody’s going to be talking about us winning all our games in the SEC, but we’re just trying to have fun.”
One of the most impressive aspects of Florida’s defensive effort was the job Scottie Wilbekin did against Tigers point guard Phil Pressey, the SEC’s preseason Player of the Year. He managed two points on 1-of-7 shooting and committed 10 turnovers.
Wilbekin also scored 13 points and had 10 assists.
Six Gators scored at least nine points, led by Erik Murphy’s 15. Yeguete had 13 points and six rebounds.
Florida’s shooting never cooled and it ended at 59.3 percent from the floor, including eight of 19 three-pointers. The Gators also outrebounded Missouri 35-25.
“Florida beat us in every facet of the game,” Tigers coach Frank Haith said. “They played very, very well and we didn’t play like we needed to play.
“They’re right there with the best teams we’ve played. Billy’s done a great job getting those guys to buy in and play great defense.”
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