Finally mostly healthy, Mizzou beats Florida, 76-74
For the first time this season, Mizzou had all of its key players on the floor. And for the first time, the Tigers beat a ranked opponent.
Mizzou put together its best performance of the season as Trent Pierce debuted and Jayden Stone returned to the court for the first time in more than a month. And the Tigers used their presence to help build a 76-74 win against the No. 22 Florida Gators at Mizzou Arena.
“Having Trent Pierce, having Jayden Stone back gives us the type of shot making, but also the type of defense when it comes down to length, IQ, but also rebounding, that we need,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said. “I’m proud of the plays that they made. I’m proud of the endurance that they showed.”
Pierce returned to play 19 minutes, scoring 10 points and bringing down five rebounds. He had a key stretch late in the game with a driving layup followed by a rhythm 3 from the top of the key to put Mizzou back in front after Florida had charged back to take a late lead.
And as Pierce made his season debut, Stone made his debut in the starting lineup. Stone, who hadn’t played since Nov. 20, came out firing. He turned a steal into a dunk for the game’s first points. Then he hit consecutive 3-pointers to put up Mizzou’s first eight points.
But while Pierce and Stone were making plays for themselves, their presence was opening things up for the other Tigers.
Gates has talked repeatedly about the need for shooters to use their gravity and open up driving lanes for Mizzou’s attacking guards and Mark Mitchell.
Robinson was the primary beneficiary as he posted one of the best games of his career. He posted 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists to go with two steals.
“Obviously, you saw tonight the shot making and the floor spacing,” Robinson said. “It allowed me to get into the paint and pound, pound and get to the free-throw line and get around the rim. So that space really helped me get to the easier drive.”
Mitchell joined Robinson in double figures with 14 points to go with three assists and two blocks, while Jacob Crews added 13 points and four rebounds. But in a shocking turn, Crews was 0-for-1 from deep, the majority of his points came at the free-throw line where he was 9-of-10.
Instead of his usual spots around the 3-point line, Crews was a regular presence in the paint for Mizzou. Crews pulled a smaller guard defending him into the paint, caught post-entry passes and got fouled again and again.
“He had a phenomenal night,” Gates said. “He just didn’t rely on his 3-pointers. And I think, ultimately, the game gave us something. He was able to draw so many fouls because we ended up doing some of our quick-hitting plays that allowed him to take his matchup advantage over (Xavian) Lee. Once we realized Lee was guarding him, we turned him into a post-up player and it’s about sacrificing. And our guys were able to sacrifice.”
Hot start
On the back of Stone’s first eight points, Mizzou kept it close while Florida was hitting early shots.
The Tigers took the initial lead, but trailed from the 18:34 mark of the first half through the 2:37 mark.
But the Florida lead never grew larger than eight points as the Tigers answered Florida’s runs with points of their own.
A Mitchell layup with 2:37 left tied the game at 35 to break the long Florida leading run, then a Trent Burns 3 from the top of the key at the buzzer tied the game at 39 going into halftime.
“It got to a point in practice where I used some profanity, cursed him out,” Gates said of Burns. “I said, ‘Just shoot 3s. Just shoot 3s all practice for the next three days. Don’t do nothing in the block. I don’t care if you rebound. I don’t care if you do anything.’ I knew deep in my mind what they would do in that situation because of shock clock plays the last previous games. We were not poised enough to execute in the last two minutes and sometimes those games got away from us. And I wanted to make sure I either had a situation where a one-pass play or a situation where we would ensure that we have the ball last.
“So I simply used our best shooter who was getting denied. They wasn’t helping off and Jacob Crews, Trent set a back screen, Jacob Crews ended up taking two men, his man and then Trent’s man who was sagging off the post on the high post area. And I knew they would leave him wide open. We’ve seen him make that shot several times. Ultimately, the cat’s out the bag. He’s one of the better shooters. It’s just a matter of him getting reps.”
Second half
The Tigers came out hot in the second half as Robinson drove for a layup, then Mitchell did the same. Robinson added another layup to make it 45-39 with 18:26 left.
Mizzou built to the biggest lead of the day after a Pierce 3 put the Tiger lead at 56-46 with 12:40 left.
Florida chipped away and was able to retake the lead with 3:37 left to play after Thomas Haugh hit a 3. Haugh ended with 24 points.
But Pierce made the play the Tigers have been missing recently. He used a Robinson offensive rebound for a driving layup, then caught a pass from Mitchell in rhythm for a 3 to create a 69-65 lead with 2:05 left to play.
Florida never tied the game again.
“We made the play when it counted,” Gates said. “I thought we got a little frozen. And they took the lead, but we didn’t break. We may have bent, but we didn’t break. Our guys showed character in that moment when they knocked down the 3 to go up one and we were able to reestablish the lead the way that we did.”
Stats
Mizzou shot 25-of-55 (45.5 percent) from the field, 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from 3 and 18-of-30 (60 percent) from the free-throw line.
Florida shot 26-of-63 (41.3 percent) overall, 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from 3 and 15-of-20 (75 percent) from the stripe. The Gators started the game 3-of-4 from 3, but went just 4-of-23 the rest of the way.
The teams tied at 37 total rebounds.
Post-game press conferences
Here is the full video of Gates, Robinson and Pierce after the game.
And here is the video of Florida coach Todd Golden.
Up next
Mizzou (11-3, 1-0) will hit the road to play Kentucky at 6 p.m. Wednesday.