Tigers stun the reigning national champs, beating Florida in SEC opener
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou men's basketball upsets No. 22 Florida in its first conference game of the season.
You can watch extended highlights of the victory in the video player below.
After a tough loss to Illinois, head coach Dennis Gates' squad returned home for the first SEC game of the year, and pulled off the upset over the Gators, 76-74.
"At the end of the day, our guys did not get discouraged. They were encouraged and they allowed failure to get them better," Coach Gates said. "They allowed public ridicule to get them better, they allowed Christmas break to get them better, they allowed me to get them better and at that point, we took a step. Now, where we go from here? We'll see. Ultimately, it'll be on the shoulders of our leadership it'll be on the shoulders of each player in that locker room and I'll do my job. I'll continue to do the best that I can to continue to get our guys prepared for games because this conference is gonna be a tough, tough conference night-in and night-out."
You can watch the full postgame press conference with Gates, as well as guard Anthony Robinson and forward Trent Pierce in the video player below.
In his first game back from injury, Jayden Stone made an immediate impact, scoring the Tigers' first eight points. Also making his return to the line up was Pierce. He ended the day with 10 points off the bench, one of four Mizzou players to reach that mark.
Robinson lead the way with 19 points in the win along with eight rebounds and five assists, while playing all but five minutes of the game. Mark Mitchell was right behind him in scoring with 14, trailed closely by Jacob Crews with 13.
After his team's second-straight regular-season loss to the Tigers, Florida head coach Todd Golden said the return of both Pierce and Stone is what truly made the difference for MU, on Saturday.
"They're two of their better players," Coach Golden said. "Jayden Stone had obviously gotten off to a great start this year, against bye-game competition, but was really efficient scoring the ball early. You know, Trent [Pierce] is a good player. He was a really good player last year, he hurt us at our place. You know, so getting those guys back was really important, I would imagine, for them. I think, you know, obviously playing Jayden 28 [minutes] and Trent 20 in their first game back...they seem pretty valuable to Missouri."
You can watch the full postgame press conference with Golden, following his team's loss, in the video player below.
Up Next - Mizzou travels to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats. Tip off for the game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
