Gators Remain Winless in Key Category Under Golden with Mizzou Loss

The Florida Gators lose another tight bout this season to keep Todd Golden winless in a specific category as the program's head coach

The Gators continue to struggle in tight games this season | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators were upset by the Missouri Tigers on Saturday night, falling 76-74 in Columbia, Mo. Head coach Todd Golden is now 0-4 in SEC openers in his four years with the Florida program. 

Thomas Haugh led the way for the Gators, scoring 24 points and grabbing seven rebounds. The next best scorer on the night was Alex Condon, who supplied 14 points, five rebounds and six assists against the Tigers. 

Gritty First Half Ends in Tie

Florida began the night strong on offense. As a team, they shot 4-for-6 from the field overall and 3-for-4 from deep in the first four minutes of the game. Moreover, Gators guard Xaivian Lee connected on his first two triples of the game. The hot start on that end of the court resulted in a 13-8 lead going into the first media break. 

However, over the next couple of minutes, Florida cooled down. That let Missouri fight back and cut the lead down to two. During this cold stretch for the Gators, the offense did not make a field goal for nearly three minutes. 

It was not until the 13:37 mark that an Urban Klavzar layup ended it. Following that basket from Klavzar, the Gators made their next two to establish an eight-point lead with 13 minutes remaining in the half. 

Missouri managed to fight back into it again, cutting the Gators’ advantage down to just two points with 7:33 remaining. The push from the Tigers got the crowd off their feet and created some nervousness for the visitors. 

Thomas Haugh helped ease Florida’s worries with a corner three at the 7:07 mark in the first. His triple put the score at 31-26, in favor of the Gators. 

Then, the highlight of the first half came from Florida’s Isaiah Brown just a possession later. On an aggressive drive to the basket, Brown soared up high and viciously dunked the ball over multiple Tiger defenders to give his team a 33-29 lead. 

Over the final six minutes, it was a back-and-forth contest between the two SEC teams. The one worry over these final minutes was that Florida’s Alex Condon picked up his third foul with 4:26 remaining in the half. By the end of the first 20 minutes, Florida and Missouri were all square at 39 apiece. 

The standout performers for Florida in the first half were Condon, Lee, Haugh, Boogie Fland and Rueben Chinyelu. Condon led all Gators with nine points. For the others, Lee had eight points, Haugh scored seven and Chinyelu added six. Fland had a team-high six assists in the first 20 minutes. 

Not Enough in the Tank for Florida in Second Half

Things started differently in the second half compared to the first. The offense struggled to knock down any of their open shots, allowing the Tigers to go on a 6-0 run.  Chinyelu finally got them on the board in the second with a fast break dunk. 

Then, a possession later, Haugh added to the Gators' highlight reel dunks. Following an offensive rebound, the ball found its way to Condon on the perimeter, who lobbed it up to Haugh for an emphatic alley-oop. 

Unfortunately, it did not provide the momentum Florida was hoping for. After the Haugh dunk, Missouri went on a 10-3 run to put them ahead 56-46 with 12:40 remaining. 

Florida’s offense started to show some life after this. It took advantage of the Tigers’ foul situation to help cut the lead down to four points. The defense also played a role in this by limiting Missouri’s offense to zero points for over four minutes. 

The momentum continued for the Gators over the next five, as well. As much as the Tigers tried to stifle the Gators, the visitors slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually cutting it down to a two-point contest with 4:27 left in the game. 

The hard work paid off for Florida, as Haugh drained a 3-pointer with under four minutes remaining to capture a 65-64 lead. That was the first lead for the Gators in the second half. 

However, it lasted less than a minute. Missouri answered on the next possession and never looked back. The Tigers quickly reclaimed the lead and controlled the game the rest of the way. They did have some luck go their way with a 3-pointer that banked in with only 21 seconds remaining that provided the Tigers with a 74-69 lead. 

Haugh made things interesting, though. The forward converted an and-one opportunity to set the score at 76-74, favoring Missouri. Then, following a pair of missed free throws from the Tigers with five seconds left, Fland had the chance for a buzzer-beater, but missed it as time expired. 

At the final whistle, Missouri upset Florida 76-74. The Gators now sit at 9-5 on the year and 0-1 in conference play. 

Up Next

Florida hosts the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on the SEC Network.