Gators Get a much-needed win, eye run in SEC Tournament

Gators guard Chris Chiozza played one of his best games of the season Saturday. (Photo: Matt Ramirez for UAA)

Gators Get a much-needed win, eye run in SEC Tournament

Sunday, March 6, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter

Florida snapped a four-game losing streak by winning at Missouri on Saturday night

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The Gators can't say they played their way into the NCAA Tournament with Saturday night's 82-72 victory at Missouri, but they can say they didn't play their way out.

A loss to the SEC cellar dweller would have likely flat-lined any possibility of the Gators climbing their way into March Madness short of winning the conference tournament next week in Nashville. Instead, Florida (18-13, 9-9) led for all but the first 91 scoreless seconds of the game to snap a four-game losing streak and return home in a good mood for once.

"We definitely feel a lot better about ourselves than if we had dropped another one,'' Gators coach Mike White said. "We've had a really tough stretch. Our guys have had opportunities to fold. I was definitely proud of that effort.

"We'll be smiling on the plane for the first time in a couple of weeks."

The Gators led 46-28 at halftime to tame the Tigers (10-21, 3-15) out of the gate.

Both coaches, White and Missouri's Kim Anderson, quickly referenced the Gators' start as a key factor in the outcome during their postgame press conferences.

"They played great early,'' Anderson said. "I thought they came out and displayed a real sense of urgency. They were playing at a tremendous pace."

28233 — Senior Dorian Finney-Smith scored a team-high 20 points in Saturday's victory at Missouri. (Photo: Matt Ramirez for UAA)

In the final regular-season game of his first season at UF, White had seen similar starts from his team, but not enough of late as losses to South Carolina, Vanderbilt, LSU and Kentucky made Saturday's game a must-win.

The Gators responded to the challenge.

Florida led 21-6 less than nine minutes in as Devin Robinson, Kasey Hill and Dorian Finney-Smith all drilled 3s over that span and point guard Chris Chiozza chipped in four assists. Meanwhile, Missouri made just two of its first 11 shots.

The night's tone was set.

"We just tried to come out and get stops,'' said Finney-Smith, who finished game-high 20 points and seven rebounds. "Whether the ball went in or not, we just wanted to get stops."

The Gators stepped onto the court facing the possibility of being the No. 8 or 10 seed in the conference tournament. Florida's win coupled with South Carolina's victory over Arkansas on Saturday earned the Gators the No. 8 seed. They will face No. 9-seed Arkansas on Thursday afternoon (1 p.m. ET).

The Gators led by as many as 21 in the second half to subdue a Senior Day crowd of 7,013 at Mizzou Arena. Chiozza did his part to ensure Florida didn't blow a comfortable halftime lead, scoring the team's first eight points of the second half.

Chiozza finished with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. He also was a source of constant energy in a team-high 32 minutes.

"I thought he was terrific,'' White said.

Chiozza made 5 of 8 shots, went 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, and added three steals and only one turnover. The Gators committed just seven turnovers as a team, matching the number of blocks and steals they had.

"We came out there with some fire and intensity," Chiozza said. "We had good spacing [offensively]. I just got into a comfort zone. The first half I was playing pretty well, so the second half I came out a little more confident. I was able to see people, see a couple of plays ahead."

The Gators played loosely on offense most of the game, with 32 of their 56 shots coming from 3-point range. The Tigers did make a late run and closed to within 77-70 on a jumper by senior Ryan Rosburg with 1:03 left.

While White was pleased with the Gators' defensive performance in the first half, he had the opposite opinion on the second half when Missouri outscored Florida 44-36. Tigers guard Namon Wright, who scored 28 points in last year's upset of the Gators, finished with a team-high 19.

"Our sense of urgency in transition D, we're still looking for it,'' White said. "I'm glad the game ended."

Perhaps the Gators didn't close as well as they could have, but after their opening, they had a hefty cushion to lean on.

Now it's time to see if they can start hot in the SEC Tournament. That could be their only chance of joining the madness of March.

"Every win is needed,'' Finney-Smith said.

No truer words were spoken on this night.