Before the Tigers took on not only No. 22 Florida, but the defending national champion Gators, fresh off its 91-48 defeat in the Braggin Rights contest, there was plenty of reason to feel skepticism for Tiger fans before Dennis Gates' squad took the floor for its SEC home opener.
By the end of Saturday night at Mizzou Arena, the Tigers' 76-74 upset victory had the opposite effect on the atmosphere: optimism for more games to come.
"I want to publicly thank our guys for allowing me to be the biggest a-hole known to man in the past week," Gates said post-game. "They took ownership and established their own identity without me being able to say a word.
"This was a hell of a game. It was an old SEC blowout, one possession. Florida held the lead for 18 minutes and 15 seconds; we held the lead for 19 minutes and three seconds."
Tigers trade blows all night with the defending champs
The first half was a back-and-forth affair. Florida hit two quick threes to jump to a 6-2 lead, and Missouri had to find its rhythm.
Jayden Stone, who had been out for weeks with a hand injury, knocked down a couple of key threes to keep the Tigers close. But despite his efforts, Florida was on fire from deep, and Missouri trailed by as much as 10 points with just under six minutes left in the half.
With momentum shifting in Florida’s favor, Trent Burns came through with a critical three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 39-39 as the teams headed into the break. It was a clutch shot that set the tone for what would be a dramatic second half.
Coming out of the locker room, Missouri struck first, as Anthony Robinson II scored inside to give the Tigers their first lead of the game, 41-39. That moment sparked a 6-0 run, with Robinson and Mark Mitchell both scoring inside to push the lead to 45-39. Robinson, who had been struggling with his shot in recent games, showed up big on both ends, and the Tigers' defense began to lock in.
Then, with about 12 minutes left, Trent Pierce, making his season debut after recovering from a lower-body injury, hit a huge transition three-pointer to extend the lead to 56-46. The Tigers had outscored Florida 20-7 in the previous 8:19, and it looked like Missouri might pull away.
But Florida wasn’t done. The Gators cut the lead to 56-52, and after a series of missed free throws by both teams, the Gators managed to tie it at 64-64 with just over 4 minutes left. At that point, the game turned into a battle of wills.
With the shot clock winding down, Robinson came up with a crucial pull-up jumper to make it 66-62. Florida responded with a quick dunk, but Robinson wasn’t finished.
Robinson grabbed two critical offensive rebounds before hitting a timely banked-in three-pointer to give Missouri a 74-69 lead with just over 30 seconds remaining.
“I told him, ‘You're the one who has to make the play," Gates said." You're shooting that shot." "That banked-in three at the end was a perfect example of him stepping up when it mattered most.”
Mizzou bent, but didn't break, with Mitchell hitting two clutch free throws to push the lead back to three points. Jacob Crews helped push the Tigers lead after grabbing an offensive rebound on a missed dunk attempt by Stone, hitting two more free throws to give Missouri a 76-71 advantage.
Even then, Florida didn’t go away, with its team leader in points, Thomas Haugh, converting an and-1 layup and knocking down the free throw. The Tigers, who shot 8-of-16 from the line in the second half, were forced to go back to the charity stripe once again.
Florida ended up having one last chance after the missed free throws by Mitchell, but Fland’s desperation shot at the buzzer missed. By the skin of their teeth the Tigers earned a hard fought SEC victory.
"We saw potential in what we could do and just having everybody out there," Robinson II said. "I think we made a little noise tonight, but we're not satisfied."