At The Buzzer: Florida 82, Missouri 72 (Instant Analysis)
The Gators capped the regular season on Saturday night at Missouri.
Saturday, March 5, 2016

At The Buzzer: Florida 82, Missouri 72 (Instant Analysis)

Scott Carter
Scott Carter / Senior Writer
Our instant analysis from the Florida-Missouri game at Mizzou Arena on Saturday night.

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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Florida men's basketball team needed a win and it got one, snapping a four-game losing streak with an 82-72 victory here over Missouri on Saturday night.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators (18-13, 9-9) capped their first season under head coach Mike White by coming out with energy and rarely letting up. Florida raced to a double-digit lead early and took a 46-28 lead into halftime as Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points in the first 20 minutes and point guard Chris Chiozza dished seven assists. Finney-Smith finished with 20 points and Chiozza had 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The Gators stretched the lead to as many as 21 in the second half and each time Missouri threatened to close the gap within striking distance, Florida responded.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators earned the No. 8 seed in next week's SEC Tournament by virtue of their win over the Tigers and South Carolina's victory over Arkansas. Florida avoided a five-game losing streak to end the regular season and won for the first time in three tries at Mizzou Arena. The Gators needed something positive to carry into the SEC Tournament and a victory over Missouri was a must for that to happen.  

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Center John Egbunu didn't take long to break the Gators' single-season record for dunks. Egbunu took a pass from Chiozza and slammed it home for a 6-1 Gators lead, his 67th dunk of the season. Egbunu broke the record owned by Marreese Speights, who had 66 slams in the 2007-08 season. 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: Coming off a dismal performance (16 of 37) at the free-throw line in their loss to Kentucky on Tuesday, the Gators shot 75.8 percent (25 of 33) at the line Saturday, including a 6-for-6 performance from freshman KeVaughn Allen. No wonder free-throw shooting often drives coaches crazy.

UP NEXT: The Gators face Arkansas in the SEC Tournament on Thursday in Nashville at 1 p.m. ET.
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