GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – UPDATE, 2/29/24, 5:10 a.m.: The 24th-ranked Gators defeated Missouri Wednesday night 83-74 at Exactech Arena/O’Connell Center in Gainesville. Mizzou is winless in Southeastern Conference play with an 83-74 victory Wednesday night. Florida forward Tyrese Samuel scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Up Next: Florida is on the road Saturday for a high-noon showdown against No. 18 South Carolina. The Gamecocks are one of the six teams in the mix for a top-four SEC Tournament seed.
ORIGINAL, 2/28/24, 6:10 a.m.: The Gators are still in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 and are looking to finish off their last few conference games strong ahead of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) tournament.
Florida secured a strong 77-64 win over Vanderbilt at home on Saturday.
Prior to that, the Gators battled it out in Tuscaloosa coming up just 5 points short with a 93-98 loss to Alabama.
Despite their loss against the Crimson Tide, Florida proved themselves in various ways, showing they can keep the lead for majority of a game against a No. 1-rated offense in the country, and top 15 ranked team.
The Gators are in pretty good standings with a 9-5 conference record, tied for the fifth spot with Kentucky.
Next, they’ll face Mizzou at home in the Exactech Arena Wednesday night. They’ve done an amazing job defending their home territory boasting a 12-1 home record this season.
The last time the two faced off earlier in January, the Gators defeated the Tigers 79-67 on their home court. Mizzou ranks last in the SEC so far this season with a 0-14 conference record.
“We try to be super consistent with our approach and with the way we prepare for games. Every team in this league is good,” said Florida head coach Todd Golden during a news conference Tuesday.
Golden commented on the fact that although the Tigers haven’t had a lot of success in terms of wins and losses, they almost beat Tennessee, a top 10 team in the country last week and fell short by just a few buckets.
“I think it’d be really, really silly for us as a program to feel like you know Missouri walking in here is an easy game,” added Golden. “We’re not there yet. We’re obviously having a good year but we’re by no means at the point where we feel like we can just show up and get on the court and be okay.”
UF has four regular-season games left, including their game against Mizzou. Two of those four games are at home.
Golden says although they’re playing very well, the team isn’t a “complete team” just yet. He says there is a certain balance that comes with it, and he wants his guys to know that there’s a sense of happiness and pride of how far they have come, but that they’re not fully satisfied just yet.
Here’s a look at the rest of Gators regular season schedule
– 2/28: Florida vs Mizzou at home, starting at 6:30 p.m.
– 3/2: Florida at South Carolina at 12:00 p.m.
– 3/5: Florida hosts Alabama, starting at 7:00 p.m.
– 3/9: Florida at Vanderbilt at 4:30 p.m.
Following the regular season, the SEC tournament will be held in Nashville March 13-17.
| TRENDING: UF swim and dive teams clinch SEC titles
If UF can get a win over Missouri, it would advance their season record to 20-8. According to Florida’s program, the 20th win happening in the month of February would be the second time that it’s been done in the last 10 years.
If you’d like to cheer on your Gators at one of their last home games of the season, you can purchase tickets here.