ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF ESPN 98.1 FM – 850 AM WRUF
The Florida Gator men’s basketball team welcomes the Missouri Tigers to the O’Connell Center this afternoon, which will be the first meeting between these two programs. UF is coming off a 68-47 blowout win this past Thursday in College Station against the Texas A&M Aggies. Similar for the Tigers, they routed the Georgia Bulldogs 79-62 last Wednesday at home. This will be UF’s second game in the span of three days.
The Gators have played excellent defense so far this season, holding eight of their opponents to under 50 points, and 11 under 60 points. They have allowed teams to score around 51 points per game, ranking them third in the nation in scoring defense. For Mizzou, they’re out rebounding opponents by an SEC best margin of ten and grabbing around 43 boards per game which is the most in the nation.
Florida has four players scoring in double figures with senior guard Kenny Boynton leading the team with 13 points a game. The Tigers have five players scoring in double digits with senior forward Laurence Bowers leading the team with 16 points per game. However, Mizzou will be without their leading scorer after he suffered an MCL sprain back on Jan. 8th against Alabama, making it his third straight game sitting out.
Gator head coach Billy Donovan is aware of the offensive weapons the Tigers possess but is making sure his team is focusing on junior guard Phil Pressey who is eighth in the nation in assists, with seven a game.
If Florida gets the win, it would give Billy Donovan his 400th win as the Gators head coach. But naturally Billy the Kid hasn’t paid it much mind, and credits all the players he has been able to coach throughout the years.
Only Adolf Rupp and Dale Brown have reached that milestone at an SEC school, placing him in elite coaching category.
You can hear the game live on ESPN Radio 850/900 and Country 103-7 The Gator starting at 1:25pm.
