At the Buzzer: Missouri 64, Florida 52 (Instant Analysis)
Wednesday, February 25, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
SCORE SCORE
WHAT HAPPENED: At Columbia, Mo., the Gators' offense went comatose in the final 13-plus minutes, as the Tigers, losers of 13 straight coming in, stormed past UF midway through the second half and ran away for an easy victory at Mizzou Arena. Freshman forward Namon Wright destroyed the Gators with a career-high 28 points, including six of eight from the 3-point line. Florida, which led by seven with just over 13 minutes and scored only eight points the rest of the way, shot just 39.6 percent for the game and made only six field goals after halftime, as Coach Billy Donovan was denied a second crack at career win No. 500. UF got 14 points and six rebounds from freshman forward Devin Robinson, 10 points (all in the first half) and eight rebounds from senior center Jon Horford, but not much else, as the team's two leading scorers -- guard Michael Frazier II (ankle injury) and forward Dorian Finney-Smith (suspended) -- did not make the trip.
WHAT IT MEANS: For Florida, that's six losses in the last seven games, with the Gators now one defeat shy of matching the program's most losses in Southeastern Conference play since 1998. The Gators also are very much in play for one of those dreaded four bottom-seed berths in the SEC Tournament. Those teams have to play on the opening Wednesday night of the five-day tournament.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Wright came into the game averaging 5.4 points, with only three double-figure scoring games in his young career. With just over 16 minutes to go, Wright already had his career high of 22 points on the way to that 28. No other Tiger finished in double figures.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: And this one is truly staggering. The Gators went 9-for-23 from the free throw line. That's 39.1 percent. Point guard Kasey Hill was 1-for-8 and is now 20-for-47 (42.5 percent) from the line in SEC play.
UP NEXT: The Gators (13-15, 6-9) are home Saturday night against Tennessee (14-12, 6-8), a team they're battling for position and seeding for the SEC Tournament. The Volunteers play Thursday night at home against Vanderbilt.
