NASHVILLE, Tenn ― For Florida basketball, the ultimate goal is to make as deep a run in the NCAA Tournament as possible. But the No, 4 Florida Gators (27-4) will get a chance at a good tuneup for March Madness and the chance to compete for a championship when they face Missouri in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena. "Winning any championship in the SEC, especially this year - it's the best conference that college basketball has seen in 20 years, if we're able to go into Nashville and win, it would be an incredible honor," Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said. "And I think it's something that not only our staff would look back on, but our players." UF earned the No. 2 seed and a double bye in the tournament by finishing second in the league and posting 14 conference wins, its most since 2016-17. Senior point guard Walter Clayton, who earned first-team All-American honors from the Sporting News earlier this week, has led the way for the Gators , averaging 17.2 points and 4.2 assists. Florida will look to avenge an 83-82 loss to Missouri on Jan. 14, its lone home loss in the 2024-25 season. No. 7 seed Missouri (22-10) snapped a three-game losing streak with an 85-73 win over No. 10 seed Mississippi State on Thursday night in the SEC Tournament. Senior guard Tamar Bates led the Tigers with 25 points. "What I saw was us get stops and defend," Bates said. "We've given up, I think, 90 points over the last four games, so... I just saw us communicating. I saw us flying around, helping each other. That's things we've done throughout the season. We just got away from it a little bit." Florida is up 41-30 on Missouri going into the last TV timeout with 3:52 remaining. Nine turnovers have hurt the Gators but UF is still shooting a blistering percentage from floor (15-21, 71.4%) and 3-point range (6-9, 66.7&). Just need to take care of the ball better. After Missouri went on a 9-0 run to cut Florida's lead to 27-22, the Gators answered with some baskets in transition, includng a Richard 3-pointer to put UF back up 33-24 on Missouri with 7:21 left in the half. Richard with 11 points, Clayton 10 points for UF. Florida basketball has extended its lead to 27-13 on Florida with 11:25 remaining. Walter Clayton up to 10 points for UF. Will Richard with eight points. Florida takes a 15-6 lead over Missouri into first TV timeout. Gators 5-7 from floor, 3-3 from 3-point range to start the game. Will Richard with eight points to lead UF. Missouri forward and leading scorer Mark Mitchell has been ruled out for tonight's game against Florida. Mitchell tweaked his knee against Mississippi State last night. Missouri starter and leading scorer Mark Mitchell (14.1 ppg) is listed as a game time decision after being sidelined with a knee injury last night against Mississippi State. Florida forward Sam Alexis (ankle) is out for the Gators.
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