Gators Look to Reset at Home vs. Missouri
Florida returns home for a Thursday night contest against Missouri. The Tigers will be coming to Gainesville after falling to the Razorbacks on Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville. Missouri’s trip to the O’Dome will be their second consecutive road game, giving the Gators a slight advantage on their home court.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators will play on their home court Thursday evening against the Mizzou Tigers in hopes of securing their fifth conference win of the season. Florida is coming off a tough road loss to Kentucky falling 77-81 on Sunday. Mizzou is also coming to Gainesville off a road loss, the Tigers were edged by Arkansas 75-68 in Fayetteville to mark their tenth SEC loss of the season. The contest between the Gators and Mizzou will mark both the Gators (4-8 SEC) and the Tigers (2-10) thirteenth conference game of the 2023-24 season. Florida is looking to notch another conference victory as the SEC tournament draws closer.
MISSOURI (11-13, 2-9 SEC):
* Date: Thursday, Feb. 22
* Time: 5 p.m.
* Site: Exactech Arena
* Stream: SECN+<https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/57a5e9d9-1e07-4654-8474-a36dbf9425ce>
* Radio: ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM<https://floridagators.com/watch/?Live=5284>
* Stats: StatBroadcast<https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=490553>
* Tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/ism/V0IyMzEy>
THE SERIES:
The all-time series between Florida and Mizzou is in favor of the Tigers with 11 wins compared to the Gators three, putting Florida at an eight-game disadvantage. Florida won the last matchup against Mizzou 61-52 in Columbia and will look to add an additional win to their streak on Thursday night.
HISTORY:
Florida and Mizzou have met a recorded 14 times in their respective school histories. The most recent matchup between the two SEC schools was in February of 2023 at Mizzou. The Gators were led by Leilani Correa with 17 points to defeat the Tigers 61-52. The nine-point win marked Florida’s largest margin of victory over the Tigers. Before Florida’s Feb. 26, 2023 win, Missouri held a three-game winning streak over the Gators, dating back to Jan. 1, 2021.
FLORIDA’S LAST GAME:
Florida’s last time out was a devastating loss in Lexington, falling 81-77 to the Wildcats. Florida was ahead of Kentucky until the final few minutes of play, where the Wildcats outscored the Gators 27-17 in the fourth quarter. Florida was led by Zippy Broughton on offense with an 18-point outing, her season-high in scoring. Broughton went 6-of-9 from the field, 6-7 from the charity stripe, and recorded one block for the Gators. Aliyah Matharu totaled 16 points for the Gators, followed by Alberte Rimdal with 13 points. On the boards, Florida was led by Faith Dut with eight rebounds, followed closely by Jeriah Warren with seven.
ABOUT MISSOURI:
The Tigers are traveling to the Swamp after a loss against Arkansas on Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville. The Tigers had four players in double digits for scoring on Sunday and were led by Hayley Frank on offense. Frank put up 22 points and secured six rebounds, but could not hold off the Razorbacks.
Throughout the season Mizzou has three players averaging in double figures for scoring: Hayley Frank (17.7 ppg), Ashton Judd (13.4 ppg), and Grace Slaughter (11.5 ppg). On the boards, Mizzou is led by Judd and Frank, both averaging 6.6 rebounds a game. In total, Judd has grabbed 165 rebounds this season with 122 being defensive and the other 43 being snagged on offense. Frank has a total of 146 with 120 from the defensive end and the other 26 from offense.
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