COLUMBIA, Mo. — Host Missouri had shredded the Florida defense through the game's first 20 minutes to take a 15-point halftime lead in their Southeastern Conference game Saturday night. In the locker room during intermission, the Gators watched video of every made Tigers shot, including their flurry of wide-open 3s. No more, they vowed. Run 'em off the line, the coaches said. Make 'em bounce it, reiterating the pregame keys to the game. 

"We got back out in the huddle and we were like, 'Yeah, let's go!' " UF sophomore shooting guard Noah Locke said. "We were fired up. We had enthusiasm. We were talking about going out there and getting stops." 

On Mizzou's first possession of the second half, guard Javon Pickett bombed a late-clock 3 to take the lead out to 18. 

Things didn't get any better. 

Junior guard Mark Smith had 22 points, six assists and five steals, but it was an all-encompassing offensive onslaught by the Tigers (9-6, 1-2) that was the biggest storyline of a 91-75 blowout win for the home team at Mizzou Arena. Though they came into the game ranked third from the bottom in the SEC in both scoring (just 66.7 points per game) and shooting percentage (.431), the Tigers carved up the Gators (10-5, 2-1) by hitting 61.5 percent for the game, including 12-for-19 from the 3-point line (63.2 percent). After averaging just 59.0 points through its first two league games, both losses, Missouri nearly hit that number by halftime on the way to taking a fat 51-36 lead and never feeling a threat thereafter. The Tigers' 91 points equaled a season high. 

"Our approach defensively, in terms of readiness and intensity level, was not on point from the tip," Florida coach Mike White said after his team had its three-game winning streak snapped. "We dug ourselves a hole."

A deep one. 

Smith hit a 3-pointer to start the game and the Tigers never trailed. When Pickett (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) offensive rebounded and put back a teammate's miss at the 8:26 mark of the first half, Missouri had its first double-digit lead. Florida never got it to single digits the rest of the way. 

"We were a little bit out of character from start to finish," graduate-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. said after pacing his team with 22 points, including 10-for-11 from the free-throw line, and four rebounds over 30 minutes. "We knew they were a high-level defensive team and that their offense feeds off their defense." 
 
That defense, which began the day ranked 31st nationally in efficiency, swarmed the Gators and surrendered just 30.8 percent and scored 10 points off seven first-half turnovers. By the time the game was over, UF had made 10 treys — only two fewer than Mizzou — and gone 25-for-32 from the free-throw line (78.1 percent), but got no closer than 10 over the final 32-plus minutes because the Tigers' hot hand continued for the entire 40 minutes, including a 14-for-22 second half (63.6 percent). 

"You go 12 of 19 from 3, you're going to have a good chance," White said. 

Conversely, if you give up 12-for-19, you're not. Ditto when you get beasted 40-14 in points in the paint. 

The Gators, basically, were gutted inside and out, as eight different Tigers scored at least six points (with four in double figures) and the team assisted on 18 of 32 baskets. 

"When you start seeing the ball go in for everybody, it's easy to get rolling," Smith said. "The crowd gets into it, and it gives you a little more energy."

And does the opposite to the opponent.

"It fell out of hands pretty quick," said Locke, who had 12 points and hit four of six 3s over 28 minutes, but was guilty (like the rest of his teammates) of turning a couple Tiger shooters loose on the perimeter. "Our last two games weren't our best defensive performances and it was a big emphasis in practice to make sure we get back to that. We're weren't as focused as we should have been."

Those last two games, by the way, were wins because the Gators did enough — on both ends — to give themselves a chance. Sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard, who good since returning from holiday break, hit just two of his six shots for eight points and had only four assists and four turnovers over 30 minutes. Sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson, the team's second-leading scorer, had just five points over 27 minutes. 

But again, it was what the Gators (and Tigers) did on the UF defense end that marked this game.

A week earlier, UF stormed from 21 down to beat Alabama at home. White was asked the difference between that game and this one.

"They kept hitting 3s," he said. "We couldn't find a way to slow them down. My goodness. 62 percent [floor], 63 percent [arc], 18 assists, [just] 11 turnovers. I can't remember the last time that happened to us at Florida. They dominated us."