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5 minutes ago
Florida Athletics
Florida grad forward Tyrese Samuel scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, while center Micah Handlogten pitched in a second double-double of 12 points and 12 boards, as the 24th-ranked Gators withstood a scare from Missouri, winless in Southeastern Conference play, before getting out of Exactech Arena/O’Connell Center with an 83-74 victory Wednesday night.
The win was UF’s fifth over the previous six games, its ninth over 11, and kept the Gators rolling toward their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2021.
Grad point guard Zyon Pullin had 21 points and dropped four of his five 3-point tries, to go with three assists and two rebounds and was a steadying force after his team lost leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr., who fouled out with 15 minutes to go.
The game was in doubt until the final minute after the Tigers rallied from 11 points down with 15 minutes to go when Clayton (13 points) was whistled for his fourth foul, then given a tech for disputing it, thus earning a disqualifying fifth.
From there, Mizzou twice got within a point, the last time with just over five minutes left, and trailed by only four with 2:33 left when Florida went on a 9-2 run that included a wicked transition “and-1” throw-down by Samuel with 1:10 to go.
Both teams shot better than 60 percent in the second half. UF need some time to figure out Missouri’s zone defense, but hit 65.4 for the period after making seven of its last eight shots and 11 of its final 13. Mizzou finished at 61.5 percent over the final 20 minutes. Tigers guard Sean East II, who had averaged 27.3 points over the last three games, led his team with 20 points and guard Nick Honor adding 18, including 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Guard Tamar Bates, who shredded the Gators for 36 in their meeting in January, had 15 points.
Samuel, whose previous career high was 22, put in 12 of his 16 shots, four of seven free throws and grabbed five offensive rebounds. Handlogten went 6-for-8 with four offensive boards. For the game, UF shot 49 percent, won the glass 38-27, including 13-7 on the offensive end for 14 second-chance points. Missouri hit 48 percent for the game, just 4-for-18 from deep, but stayed around by going 16 of 20 from the free-throw line.
What it Means
UF has hit the coveted 20-win milestone in the month of February for the first time since 2017. The Gators also are guaranteed their first winning record in SEC play since 2020, but more importantly remain smack in the hunt for a top-four seed at the SEC Tournament, set for March 13-17 at Nashville, Tenn. For the moment, Florida is a three-way tie (with Kentucky and Auburn) for the fourth-place spot.
In the Spotlight
Samuel was fantastic, but so was Handlogten. The two combined 40 points (on 18-for-24 from the floor) and 22 rebounds, with nine on the offensive end.
Staggering Statistic
Both teams shooting 60-plus in the second half — they combined to making 33 of 52 field goals (that’s 63.5 percent) — is pretty remarkable.
Up Next
Florida (20-8, 10-5), after back-to-back home games, is on the road Saturday for a huge high-noon showdown against No. 18 South Carolina, one of the six teams in the mix for a top-four SEC Tournament seed.
The Gamecocks (22-5, 10-4), winners of eight of the previous 10, take on Texas A&M later Wednesday night.
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