Recap: Gators blitz Mizzou, 83-52

(10) Florida 83 - Missouri 52

Top Performers

Florida Gators
Scottie Wilbekin: 13 points (6/8 fg, 1/2 3pt), 10 assists, 3 steals
Erik Murphy: 15 points (6/11 fg, 3/5 3pt), 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
Kenny Boynton: 14 points (6/11 fg, 2/6 3pt)
Will Yeguete: 13 points (6/7 fg, 1/1 ft), 6 rebounds
Patric Young: 9 points (4/8 fg, 1/1 ft), 8 rebounds, 3 blocks

Texas A&M
Jabari Brown: 16 points (5/18 fg, 4/11 3pt)
Keion Bell: 14 points (5/6 fg, 4/4 ft)
Phil Pressey: 2 points (1/7 fg, 0/4 3pt), 6 assists, 10 turnovers

First Half Notes

• Junior forward Patric Young scored the first five UF points.
• The Gators went on a 9-0 run to begin the game.
• At the first media timeout (14:17), the Gators were up 17-5.
• ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes: "Missouri can't play man-to-man against Florida."
• Junior guard Scottie Wilbekin had a great strip on the Tigers' star guard Phil Pressey in transition.
• All game, Florida was a couple of steps quicker than Missouri.
• Freshman guard Michael Frazier passed up an open shot, but knocked down a three-pointer on the next possession.
• UF forced 12 turnovers during the half!
• Senior forward Erik Murphy had a baseline dunk, only the 5th dunk of his career.
• One negative from the half, UF committed 10 turnovers.  Coach Donovan would not have been happy about that.
• UF forced Mizzou to call a timeout in the backcourt.  Nothing pleases Coach Donovan or his staff more than forcing a team to burn a TO as a result of Florida's press.
• You have to give Missouri credit for playing hard until the final buzzer.  
• Halftime score: Florida 40 - Missouri 23

Second Half Notes

• Missouri cut the Gators' lead down to 14 and that resulted in a Donovan timeout.  The Gators responded with five quick points.
• When asked to compare last year's Gator defense vs. this year's, Dykes said, "It's not even close (this team's defense is better)." 
• Young had an excellent put-back dunk on a Kenny Boynton miss.
• Senior guard Mike Rosario had two great passes to junior forward Will Yeguete for layups.
• Rosario also took two charges.
• Young had a few in-and-outs on some of his hook shots, but he still showed nice post moves.
• Saturday's crowd was the first Gator sellout of the season and the 10th largest crowd all-time in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center (12,597).
• Young had maybe the highlight of the game when he crossed over and completely faked out Missouri forward Ryan Rosburg (almost an ankle-breaker, but Rosburg slipped on a wet spot on the floor).
• UF probably gave other SEC teams tips on how to defend Pressey.
• Wilbekin's defense this week: Texas A&M's Elston Turner scored 4 points (1/10 fg), and Mizzou's Pressey had 2 points (1/7 fg) and 10 turnovers.
• Dykes' teams that he wouldn't want to play on a neutral court: Louisville, Duke, Syracuse, and Florida.
• Yeguete had two dunks.
• Coach Donovan cleared the bench at the 2:31-mark.
• Sophomore walk-on Jake "The Snake" Kurtz hit a jumper as the shot clock expired, sending the O'Dome into a frenzy.
• The freshmen (Frazier, DeVon Walker, Dillon Graham, and Braxton Ogbueze) played much better than they did against Texas A&M.  They were outscored 9-0 vs. the Aggies.
• Young threw an ice bucket on Coach Donovan in the locker room to celebrate his 400th win with the Gators.
• Final score: Florida 83 - Missouri 52

Selected stats (all Florida stats unless noted)

Field goals made/attempted= 35/59 (53.9%)

Three-pointers made/attempted= 8/19 (42.1%)

Free throws made/attempted= 5/8 (62.5%)

Rebounds/offensive= 35 rebounds/7 offensive

Fouls= 14

Assists= 21

Turnovers= 16

Steals= 14

Missouri turnovers= 21

Blocks= 7

Points off turnovers= 34

Points in the paint= 48

Second-chance points= 11

Fastbreak points= 16

Bench points= 23

Guard rebounds= 10

Marquette offensive rebounds= 6

Officials= Tony Greene, Ron Groover, and Lamar Simpson

Attendance= 12,597

What's Up Next

On Wednesday (1/23), the Gators travel to the University of Georgia, looking to avenge last year's loss to the Bulldogs in Athens. Tip is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.  The game will be televised on the SEC Network and on the radio on WRUF/Gator IMG Sports Network.  The pregame radio show begins at 7:25.