What Went Right: What Mizzou Can do to Take Down No. 2 Seed Florida

The Tigers did it before earlier in the year, pulling off an improbable victory against the Gators in Gainesville.

Jan 11, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guards Caleb Grill (31) and Tamar Bates (2) celebrate with forward Mark Mitchell (25) during a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Mizzou Arena. | Amber Winkler/MissouriOnSI

If a team can do it once, certainly they can do it again, right?

Two months ago on this day, the Missouri Tigers shocked the world with a win in Gainesville, Florida against the No. 5 Florida Gators. The win placed Missouri on the national map and made teams realize that they could compete in the SEC. Now, in very different circumstances, the two teams are facing off in the SEC tournament quarterfinals.

In that last matchup on the road, the Tigers won 83-82 thanks to a heroic performance from Caleb Grill and a solid defensive performance, two things that haven't come to fruition as of late for Missouri. Regardless, hot perimeter shooting, clutch plays down the stretch and intense defensive pressure helped deliver a win for the Tigers.

When teams arrive at their conference tournament, each of them knows what to expect in their opponents. Whether they've clashed once or twice, there is always a sense of familiarity when these matchups reoccur. That makes throwing a variation of a new offense or defense at that opponent important.

What the Tigers can do differently is hard to say. Maybe it's some zone on defense or the involvement of an unsung hero on offense, Dennis Gates and his squad might have to switch it up in order to beat the Gators. He has an absolute battle in front of him, one that would go a long way if it ended in the win column.

Here's a look into what needs to happen for Missouri to win, as well as what worked two months ago in its first victory.

Grill gets going

If Missouri wants to see any postseason success beyond its win over Mississippi State, the Tigers will need the sparkplug version of Grill that made several appearances during their conference play hot streak. That wasn't the case on Thursday against the Bulldogs but was against the Gators early in the year,

Against Florida, Grill finished with 22 points on 7-for-11 overall shooting and 6-for-10 from the outside. The number of big plays he made late in the game to either extend the Missouri lead or to garner momentum was game-changing and there's no doubt Missouri wouldn't have won without his heroics.

Jan 14, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Caleb Grill (31) looks on past Missouri Tigers guard Tony Perkins (12) against the Florida Gators during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Sure, there's been a slight decline in his offensive production over the last few games. He hasn't hit the 20-point mark since March 1 against Vanderbilt and hasn't hit his season-average in three-point percentage since the game before against South Carolina. If there was a perfect time for Grill to return to form in the shooting column, it seems like that time is today.

(somehow) Stop their guards

Shutting down Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard all at once is pretty difficult. Expecting to do that in any capacity might be unrealistic, but if the Missouri defense can, it would help. It's a similar situation for the Gators defensively when preparing for Grill: You absolutely can not let him get hot.

Way back when the two teams initially faced off, it was Clayton who did the bulk of the scoring for the Gators. He scored 28 points on 9-for-19 shooting, dismantling the Tiger defense to get just about any shot he wanted. He went 3-for-7 from the perimeter as well, finding some efficiency from outside.

Clayton wasn't the only productive one. Martin finished the game with 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting and Richard 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting. The trio can hurt an opposing defense in a variety of ways, which makes it hard to minimize all at once.

Jan 14, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Walter Clayton Jr. (1) dribbles the ball at Missouri Tigers guard T.O. Barrett (5) during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Simply put, this isn't the best matchup at this exact moment for a Missouri defense that's mightily struggled in defending downhill moving and high-level shooting guards. This will be a true defensive test for Missouri. If they don't get low and lock down the Florida guard front, the game could spiral quickly.

So who guards them?

The answer to stopping Clayton in January was in and out of the game down the stretch for the Tigers. Ant Robinson, a surefire, defensive-minded point guard, was battling foul issues late in the game. He teetered the line of fouling out by having four fouls to his name, but never did.

Jan 14, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Anthony Robinson II (0) dribbles the ball at Florida Gators forward Alex Condon (21) during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

That foul trouble limited his physicality on the defensive end, forcing him to move on and off the court in favor of freshman guard T.O. Barrett. Barrett was serviceable on defense and kept glaring mistakes to a minimum, but the defensive presence of Robinson late would have helped. A lot.

Barrett wasn't necessarily a slouch, though. He still took on the task of guarding Florida's lead guard, whether it was Clayton or Richard. He wasn't the answer to stopping them, but the drop off wasn't too severely steep that it cost Missouri the game.

That being said, Robinson could be the secret weapon to keeping Clayton and company quiet. If he stays out of foul trouble, which has been a recurring theme all season long, Robinson can take the role of guarding Clayton, Martin, or Richard. There might not be a player you trust more on Missouri's roster to guard an opposing team's best offensive player and having Robinson available will allow for exactly that.