Following the win over Mississippi State, the Mizzou Tigers faced the Florida Gators in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
Coming into the game, the Tigers had won the first meeting between these two teams back in January. In that win, Caleb Grill was lights out from behind the arc, leading the Tigers with 22 points, while Mark Mitchell was the next highest scorer with 15 points.
In January's contest, Gator guard Walter Clayton Jr. was a matchup problem for the Tigers, pouring in 28 points despite the loss.
Fast forward to the SEC Tournament, and it was Will Richard who got the Gators on the board early, knocking down his first 3 shots of the evening as Florida jumped out to an early 10-0 lead before the Tigers could even blink.
Following a 20-point performance against Mississippi State, Tony Perkins picked up right where he left off, scoring 7 of the first 9 Tiger points as they worked their way back into the game.
Similar to the earlier matchup, Walter Clayton left his mark early in the game, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and finishing the first half with a game-leading 17 points. Clayton and Richard exploded for a combined 30 of the team’s 50 points in the opening half.
After falling down 10-0, the pressure was on for the Tigers to fight back and climb back into the game. Following his 25-point performance against Mississippi State, the Tigers ran much of their offense through Tamar Bates, who led the team with 9 points. Despite their efforts, the Gators held a 13-point lead at the break.
All half long, the Tigers struggled with their shooting, going just 2-of-11 from three-point range, which became a key area of weakness for them.
With the Tigers down by 13, they were forced to mount a comeback if they had any chance of winning.
The Tigers did just that, capitalizing on Walter Clayton going into the tunnel to seek medical attention. As a result, the Gators' lead was trimmed to just 5 points.
Caleb Grill came alive for the Tigers, knocking down 2 huge threes in the second half to keep Mizzou's hopes alive.
Despite the Tigers' surge, the unlikely hero for the Gators was Thomas Haugh, who was clutch from the free throw line down the stretch. Haugh finished with 16 points, and 4 Gators scored 15 or more points in the game.
The Tigers couldn’t hold on, falling to the Gators 95-81 and getting eliminated from the SEC Tournament.
Bates was the Tigers’ leading scorer with 16 points, while both Tony Perkins and Anthony Robinson contributed 13 points as Mizzou fell to Florida.
Mizzou will find out who they will play in the NCAA Tournament at 6 p.m. ET on the Selection Sunday show on CBS.