Gators taking "on a whole new team" in Missouri tonight

#5 Florida Gators (21-3, 11-1 SEC) at Missouri Tigers (18-7, 7-5 SEC)
Mizzou Arena (capacity: 15,061), Columbia, Mo. 9:00 p.m.

Broadcast Information

TV: ESPN; Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Jimmy Dykes (analyst), and Holly Rowe (sideline)
Radio: WRUF/Gator IMG Sports Network; Mick Hubert (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analyst)
Streaming: ESPN3.com

Head Coaches

Missouri: Frank Haith (48-12, 2nd season at Missouri; 177-113 overall, 9th season)
University of Florida: Billy Donovan (407-161, 17th season at Florida; 442-181 overall, 19th season)

Probable Starters

Florida Gators

#5 Scottie Wilbekin (6'2", 176 lbs JR) Season stats: 9.4 ppg, 5.5 apg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 steals per game
#1 Kenny Boynton (6'2", 190 lbs SR) Season stats: 13.0 ppg, 3.4 apg, 3.2 rpg
#3 Mike Rosario (6'3", 183 lbs RS-SR) Season stats: 12.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg
#33 Erik Murphy (6'10", 238 lbs SR) Season stats: 12.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg
#4 Patric Young (6'9", 249 lbs JR) Season stats: 10.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.8 blocks per game

Bench

#24 Casey Prather (6'6", 212 lbs JR) Season stats: 6.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg
#20 Michael Frazier (6'4", 200 lbs FR) Season stats: 6.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
#25 DeVon Walker (6'6", 191 lbs FR) Season stats: 0.9 ppg, 0.7 rpg

Missouri Tigers

#1 Phil Pressey (5'11", 175 lbs JR) Season stats: 12.0 ppg, 6.8 apg, 3.2 rpg
#5 Keion Bell (6'4", 200 lbs RS SR) Season stats: 11.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg
#32 Jabari Brown (6'5", 205 lbs RS SO) Season stats: 14.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg
#21 Laurence Bowers (6'8", 227 lbs RS SR) Season stats: 14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg
#42 Alex Oriakhi (6'9", 255 lbs SR) Season stats: 10.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 blocks per game

Bench

#33 Earnest Ross (6'5", 222 lbs RS JR) Season stats: 10.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg
#3 Tony Criswell (6'9", 240 lbs JR) Season stats: 5.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg
#35 Stefan Jankovic (6'11", 230 lbs FR) Season stats: 3.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg
#14 Negus Webster-Chan (6'7", 200 lbs FR) Season stats: 2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg
#44 Ryan Rosburg (6'10", 250 lbs FR) Season stats: 1.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg

Injury News and Team Notes

• Florida moved up to #5 in the AP Poll, up from #7 in last week's poll.
• Freshman guard Michael Frazier was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.  Frazier scored 18 points on 6/7 from 3-point range (career-highs in points and 3-pointers made).
• Junior forward Casey Prather is averaging 10.0 ppg in his last three games.  Prather's shooting a remarkable 65.7% (44/67) from the field!
• Senior guard Kenny Boynton made 4/9 3-pointers in Saturday's win at Auburn, scoring 16 points.  Those were his most 3-point makes and points since the win at Mississippi State on January 26.
• The Gators have lost only once when leading at the half.  Their only loss was at Arizona.
• The Gators have had 15-straight 20+ win seasons (all under Donovan).  Only Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Jim Boeheim have had more 20+ winning seasons in a row.
• Senior guard Mike Rosario scored 18 first half points on Saturday and finished with a career-high 22 points (at Florida).
• Frazier has scored in double-figures in 16 games this season.
• Junior guard Scottie Wilbekin is second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover margin, while Boynton is fourth.
• Frazier and senior forward Erik Murphy are two of four players in the nation who are shooting 50% or better from 3-point range and make 1.5 three's per game or more.
• In SEC games, the Gators are making exactly 10 3-pointers per game.  Frazier is shooting 60% from deep in league play, best in the SEC.
• The Gators had a season-high 25 assists on Saturday.
• Florida also made a season-high 15 3-pointers.
• Wilbekin had his third 10-assist game of the season.
• Including UF's 31-point win over Auburn, the Gators have had eight victories by 30 or more points this season.
• •In the first meeting on January 19, Missouri star point guard Phil Pressey committed 10 turnovers, a tremendous credit to Wilbekin's defense.
• Tigers' senior forward Laurence Bowers did not play in the first meeting due to a knee injury.
• Coach Donovan described Bowers as Missouri's "heart and soul."
• The Tigers have six players who average double-figures in points, led by Jabari Brown at 14.6 ppg.  
• The Tigers rank second in the SEC in scoring, averaging 76.5 ppg.  They are also the top free throw shooting team, going 75% from the line.
• Missouri leads the league in rebounding at 42.2 rpg and rebounding margin at +10.2.
• Florida is 7-3 on the road this season.
• Missouri is 14-0 at home this season.

Last Game for Both Schools

Florida: Defeated Auburn (away) on Saturday, 83-52.
Missouri: Lost to Arkansas (away) on Saturday, 73-71.

Gators All-Time Versus Missouri

The Gators are 1-0 all-time against the Tigers, their only prior meeting being on January 19.  However, this will be Florida's first trip to Columbia, Missouri.

Last Meeting Between Schools

Florida defeated Missouri 83-52 on January 19 in Gainesville. 

What I'm Wondering

1.  Missouri is a totally different team than the one that lost by 31 points exactly one month ago in Gainesville.  Bowers did not play in that game and his absence clearly affected the Tigers' gameplan.  Missouri might be the deepest team in the league and they can stroke it from deep.  How will the Tigers' avenge last month's loss to the Gators? 

2.  As is the case with every conference road game, it's how the Gators respond coming out of the gate that will determine what the tempo of the game will be.  How will the Gators come out tonight?

3.  The matchup between Young and Oriakhi was one I was really looking forward to in the first meeting, but Missouri's big man was in foul trouble for most of the game and Young absolutely won that battle, picking up a double-double.  Who wins the matchup tonight?

Final score prediction: Florida 74 - Missouri 70