Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gators take down No. 20 Missouri at home to extend winning streak

Florida Forward Colin Castleton reached 1,000 points as a Gator

Florida forward Colin Castleton wards off a Georgia defender in the Gators' 82-75 victory over the Bulldogs Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.
Florida forward Colin Castleton wards off a Georgia defender in the Gators' 82-75 victory over the Bulldogs Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023.

The Gators continuously traded baskets with the No. 20 Missouri Tigers. The pattern ended when Florida sophomore forward Alex Fudge cut toward the basket and soared in for a dunk to give Florida a nine-point lead with four minutes left in the game.

The lead was enough to lift UF to its first ranked win of the season.

Florida (10-7, 3-2 SEC) defeated the Tigers (13-4, 2-3 SEC) 73-64 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Saturday. The Tigers were held to 17% from three. UF put the game away in the second half thanks to sophomore guard Will Richard, who scored a team-high 18 points and tied his season high.

UF held Missouri just over 20 points below its average total per game. Head coach Todd Golden said the Gators have developed into one of the best defensive teams in the nation.

“It’s a great backbone to have in your program,” Golden said.

Graduate student forward Colin Castleton surpassed the 1,000-point mark Saturday. He joins former Gator Dorian Finney-Smith as the only transfers to reach 1,000 points at Florida.

“It feels good to be able to do that,” Castelton said. “The biggest thing for me was winning this game tonight.”

The Tigers started the game on an 11-0 run through the first four and a half minutes. The Gators struggled to produce anything on offense; they took only one shot, a miss, in the same amount of time.

The poor shooting performance forced Florida head coach Todd Golden to call an early timeout. 

Sophomore guard Kowacie Reeves stopped the bleeding by driving inside for the first UF basket of the game. He was fouled on the make but missed out on the chance for a three-point play.

Florida’s defense picked up from that point on. It kept the Tigers scoreless over the next three minutes until Missouri senior guard Sean East II knocked down a mid-range jumper. 

UF turned to freshman guard Riley Kugel — who made back-to-back threes — to bring Florida back into the game.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox

Missouri struggled to shoot from the floor through the rest of the half. The Tigers’ scored 10 points in the next ten minutes, six coming from the charity stripe. Florida was called for seven fouls in the first half.

MU head coach Dennis Gates switched to an intense man-to-man defense to try to preserve the lead.

However, graduate student guard Kyle Lofton gave UF its first lead of the game, 26-25, after a step-back 3-pointer with three minutes left until halftime.

Florida scored only two points after the basket, and the game was knotted at 28 going into the break.

The Gators held Missouri to 33% from the field and locked down the perimeter through the first half. The Tigers were 1-9 from beyond the arc going into the second half.

The Gators and Tigers went back and forth, making five baskets each through the opening five minutes of the half.

An offensive foul against Reeves with 13 and a half minutes remaining in the game gave Missouri the momentum. It went on a 4-0 run to regain the lead, 45-43, after a dunk by senior forward Kobe Brown.

Florida went on a three-minute scoring drought until graduate student guard Myreon Jones drained a 3-pointer to put UF up 48-47. The triple was his first basket of the game after starting 0-4.

The Gators extended their lead by making four of their next five field goals. Castleton made three of them on the way to his 16-point effort. 

Richard — who ended the game 4-8 from three — made a 3-pointer in stride to give UF a 57-50 lead. Gates called a timeout with six minutes left in the game to try to slow UF’s offense. Richard’s emphasis on taking the right shots aided his recent success, he said.

“Taking shots that are ultimately in rhythm rather than forcing my shots,” Richard said. “Just let the game come to me.”

MU couldn’t silence fans in the O’Dome after the timeout. Fudge threw down a one-handed jam to build on Florida’s momentum.

Missouri’s duo of Brown and graduate student guard D’Moi Hodge made 12 of the Tigers’ last 16 points. However, a Castleton steal iced the game with seconds left. Florida took down the No. 20 team in the nation 73-64. 

The Gators will travel to College Station, Texas, to face the Texas A&M Aggies at 7 p.m. Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network. 

Contact Brandon Hernandez at bhernandez@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @BranH2001.

Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Brandon Hernandez

Brandon Hernandez is currently the enterprise sports writer and sports podcast host for The Independent Alligator. He likes long walks on the sidewalk and watching basketball tape in his off time. You can find most of his work @BranH2001 on X and on The Courtside Podcast on Spotify.


Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.