University of Missouri
Florida
No. 21 Men's Basketball Faces No. 4 Florida in SEC Quarterfinals
3/14/2025 7:46:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| #21/22 Missouri (22-10, 10-8 SEC) vs. #4/4 Florida (27-4, 14-4 SEC) | |
| Game Details | Friday, March 14 • 6 p.m. • Nashville, Tenn. • Bridgestone Arena |
| Television | SEC Network |
| Radio | Tiger Radio Network | Sirius XM: 106 or 190 | Sirius XM App: 960 |
| Game Notes | Missouri |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats | Twitter: @MizzouHoops | Instagram: @MizzouHoops |
No. 21/22 University of Missouri men's basketball continues its quest for a league title when it faces No. 4/4 Florida in the SEC Quarterfinals. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on Friday on SEC Network.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri owns a 22-10 overall record. The Tigers finished tied for sixth in the SEC standings with a 10-8 conference record.
• Mizzou entered the postseason ranked No. 21 in the AP poll and No. 22 in the coaches poll.
• MU advanced to the SEC Quarterfinals with an 85-73 win over Mississippi State on Thursday.
• Junior Mark Mitchell leads the Tigers with 14.1 points per game, while Caleb Grill at 13.8 and Tamar Bates at 13.3 follow closely behind.
• Josh Gray has a team-best 5.4 rebounds, while Anthony Robinson II leads MU with 3.5 assists.
• MU is eighth nationally with a scoring offense of 84.6 and 22nd with a scoring margin of +11.4.
ABOUT THE GATORS
• Florida earned the double bye after earning the No. 2 seed with a 14-4 conference record.
• The Gators are ranked No. 4 in both national polls and are 27-4 overall this season.
• Florida won its last three regular-season games and nine of its final 10.
• Walter Clayton Jr. leads UF with 17.2 points and 4.3 assists, while Alijah Martin adds 14.5 points.
• Alex Condon has a team-best 8.0 rebounds.
• The Gators average 84.5 points with a scoring defense of 68.2 points.
SERIES HISTORY
• The teams have met on 16 previous occasions with Florida holding an 11-5 edge over Mizzou.
• The schools played earlier in the season at Florida with Mizzou handing the Gators their only home loss of the season, 83-82. Caleb Grill led Mizzou with 22 points, connecting 6-of-10 from three.
• The teams have met once in the SEC Tournament in 2014 when Florida, the nation's top-ranked team, earned a 72-49 victory en route to the title.
SEC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• MU is competing in its 11th SEC Tournament since joining the league in 2012, posting an 8-10 record.
• Under head coach Dennis Gates, Mizzou own a 2-2 record and has advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time in three years.
• Mizzou is aiming for just its second-ever semifinal appearance, also reaching the final four in 2023.
TOURNAMENT NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Mizzou advanced to the SEC Quarterfinals with a 1-3 record in its previous four trips in the round.
• The team's only quarterfinal win was two years ago with a 79-71 victory over Tennessee.
• To reach its second semifinal, MU will have to post its biggest SEC Tournament win as it is 1-8 as the lower-seeded team, including 0-4 against top-four seeds all-time.
TOP-FIVE WINS
• Friday marks another opportunity for the Tigers to add a marquee victory to their resume.
• As the nation's fourth-ranked team, Florida is Mizzou's sixth top-five opponent this season.
• MU is 3-2 against top-five schools, including an 83-82 win at No. 5 Florida earlier this season.
• The Tigers and Auburn are the only two schools nationally with three top-five wins this year.
• In fact, MU – who has already matched a school record with three top-five wins (also in 1988-89) – is attempting to become the first team with four top-five wins in a season since Duke in 2018-19.
50-40-90 CLUB
• Senior Tamar Bates led the Tigers to victory in Thursday's second-round contest and is enjoying one of the best shooting seasons in MU history.
• Bates is averaging 13.3 points per game, shooting 51.6 percent overall, 40.5 percent from 3-point range and 94.3 percent from the free-throw line.
• The senior is on pace to become the first Tiger in school history to shoot 50-40-90 in a season.
• In fact, Bates is the only player in the country shooting 50-40-90 this season (minimum one made 3-pointer and free throw per game).
PLENTY OF OPTIONS
• The Tigers are a difficult to team to game plan for with the amount of weapons they have.
• In Thursday's win, Tony Perkins became the sixth Tiger to score 20 points in a game this season.
• Overall, 12 players have scored in double figures at least once in 2024-25 with eight different players leading the team in scoring.
PERKINS GETTING COMFORTABLE
• Overall, Tony Perkins continues to gain confidence with MU in his first season with the program.
• In his last 11 games, Perkins is averaging 10.0 points – shooting 52.0 percent from the field.
• Perkins has also scored in double figures in six of the last 11 games (did so in four of first 19 games).
• Overall, Perkins, who battled a leg injury to start the year, is now tallying 8.6 points and 2.6 assists.
DEFENSE KEYS VICTORY
• The Mizzou defense stepped up big in its win Thursday night over Mississippi State.
• After allowing 90.8 points in its last six games, MU allowed just 73 points and 36.4 shooting, forcing MSU to miss eight of its final nine shots.
• The 36.4 field goal percentage defense is its third best versus an SEC team this season and second best in MU history during the SEC Tournament.
