At the Buzzer: No. 24 Florida 93, Missouri 54 (Instant Breakdown)

Thursday, February 2

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

Missouri

Tickets

Here's what went down with Gators basketball.

At the Buzzer: No. 24 Florida 93, Missouri 54 (Instant Breakdown)

Thursday, February 2, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Photo Gallery by Tim Casey, Allison Curry, Britt Moore, & Kelly Streeter

The Gators returned home Thursday and blew out the Tigers for a third straight win behind a spectular triple-double effort from Chris Chiozza.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

AT THE BUZZER
No. 24 FLORIDA 93, MISSOURI 54

WHAT HAPPENED: Junior point guard Chris Chiozza came off the bench to card the first triple-double by a Florida player in eight years and the 24th-ranked Gators did a wire-to-wire number on the outmanned Tigers in cruising to victory before a reved-up crowd at Exactech Arena. Chiozza scored 12 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and dished 10 assists, the last coming in the final seconds on a 3-pointer in transition by forward Devin Robinson (9 points, 11 rebounds) that had the UF bench jumping. Fifth-year senior forward Canyon Barry scored a team-high 17 points, while sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen threw in 15 more for UF, which outshot Mizzou 45 percent to 30 and pulverized the Tigers on the glass 56-32. The Gators' third straight blowout win came on the heels of a two-game road swing that saw UF smash LSU by 36, then Oklahoma by 32, so make that three straight 30-plus-point wins.

WHAT IT MEANS: Another SEC win. That makes seven, which is two shy of last season's total with nine still to play. In defeating the last-place Tigers, the Gators maintained sole possession of third place in the league standings, but with a chance to better themselves in a big way coming up (read on). UF didn't mess around, either. The Gators came out and defended the home court with a vengence (albeit, against a severely outmanned opponent), something that had been missing through the team's initial five games at the new O'Dome.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Before Chiozza, the last Florida player to record a triple-double was point guard Nick Calathes , who went for 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in an 83-57 home defeat of Georgia on Jan. 29, 2009. What a night for "Cheese." The kid goes just 6 feet, but he led the Gators on the glass and flashed his shooting touch, as well, but going 4-for-8 from the floor and 2-for-4 from deep. Over the last three games, Chiozza has totaled 24 assists and just five turnovers.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Florida won a third straight games by at least 30 points for the third time in school history. The other two times, not surprisingly, came during the Billy Donovan era. The last time was in 2006 against Western Kentucky (101-68), Prairie View (94-33) and Tennessee-Chattanooga (93-44) in November. The other time: December of 2004 against Sam Houston State (83-51), Eastern Kentucky (98-49) and Georgia Southern (100-68).

UP NEXT: Florida (17-5, 7-2) must flip into hyperdrive instantly, what with a quick turn-around to Saturday night's prime-time O'Dome showdown against No. 8 Kentucky (18-4, 8-1). As if the game isn't big enough, ESPN is sending its "Game Day" crew to campus Saturday, for on-location broadcasts and analysis throughout the day. The Wildcats have won five straight in the series, including two in a row at Gainesville. The game has been sold out for weeks.