Mizzou Arena - Columbia, MO
Tip-off: Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A

The Gators head to Columbia Tuesday to face a Missouri team that has lost 13 straight games.

Florida has been miserable lately, losing 70-63 as 5-point underdogs at LSU for its fifth SU loss in six games. The Gators are also 2-4 ATS in those contests and they haven’t scored 65+ points in eight straight games. They will need to start playing better offensively or it will be extremely difficult for them to crawl out of this hole and even make the NIT Tournament. Fortunately for Florida, the team is now facing a Missouri team that lost its 13th straight game in a 76-53 defeat at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Tigers are 4-8-1 ATS over the course of their losing streak and they have not been good on either side of the ball. The most recent meeting between these two teams was a 72-49 victory for Florida in the SEC Tournament last season. Florida has won three of the past four games between these teams SU, but Missouri is 2-2 ATS in those games and won-and-covered the only time they hosted the Gators. The past three games played between these teams also happened to go Under the total. Florida has struggled when being a favorite on the road, going just 1-4 SU and ATS this season. Missouri, meanwhile, is 1-6 SU but 3-4 ATS as a home underdog. F Dorian Finney-Smith (Suspension) will miss the game against Missouri and G Michael Frazier II (Ankle), C John Egbunu (Eligibility), G Brandone Francis (Academics) and G DeVon Walker (Knee) are either out indefinitely or for the season for Florida. G Wes Clark (Knee) is out for the season for Missouri.

Florida has been extremely disappointing this season and a lot of that has to do with its poor offense. The Gators are scoring just 64.8 PPG (242nd in NCAA) on 43.3% shooting (192nd in NCAA) and that is not going to cut it. Defensively they’ve been a lot better, allowing just 59.8 PPG (28th in NCAA). This team is extremely depleted due to injuries and suspensions and the Gators are now heavily relying on the play of G Eli Carter (8.9 PPG) and F Devin Robinson (6.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG). Carter is a streaky player for the Gators and is coming off of a game where he had 14 points, four rebounds and three assists in a loss at LSU. Carter is a volume scorer and can score in a number of ways, but he’s really struggled from behind the arc this season (30% 3PT). He will need to find his stroke in order to get this team back to .500 on Tuesday. Devin Robinson has performed extremely well for a first-year player, averaging 12.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG over the past two games. Robinson is tough to guard around the basket and he’ll need to continue to grow as a player this season. C Jon Horford (6.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG) is a tough player inside, but he doesn’t necessarily do anything well for this Gators team. He had six points, nine rebounds and three blocks against LSU but he has not been the type of offensive player that Billy Donovan had hoped he’d be. He has a solid jumper and passes very well for a big man, but he has not translated those skills into stats or wins. G Kasey Hill (7.2 PPG, 4.5 APG, 1.0 SPG) had a good game against LSU on Saturday, finishing with nine points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals in 37 minutes. Hill had big expectations coming into the season, but he has not lived up to them. He’s going to need to play out his mistakes the rest of the season in order to be an impact player a year from now.

Missouri has been one of the worst teams in the nation this year, struggling mightily on both ends of the floor. The team is scoring just 61.7 PPG (305th in NCAA) on 41.0% shooting (293rd in NCAA) and allowing a miserable 69.5 PPG (263rd in NCAA). G Wes Clark (10.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.1 APG) was one of this team’s best sources of offense, but he’s out for the season after injuring his knee. Now F Johnathan Williams II (12.4 PPG, 7.0 APG) will need to carry even more of the offensive burden for the Tigers. Williams III really struggled against Vanderbilt last game, finishing with just six points in 21 minutes and he also got himself into foul trouble. He’ll need to stay disciplined against Florida because he is this team’s leading scorer and rebounder. He also happens to be one of the best shooters (37% 3PT) they have as well. If he can stay on the court, he should be able to give the Gators some problems. G Keith Shamburger (8.5 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.1 SPG) will have to play a very good game for this Tigers team on Tuesday. He had nine points, eight assists and four rebounds against Vanderbilt on Saturday and plays with an extremely high motor at all times. Shamburger fills up the stat sheet and does everything his coach asks of him on a nightly basis. If he can limit his turnovers and stay out of foul trouble, he should give a weak Gators backcourt some serious issues. G Montaque Gill-Caesar (9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG) has scored 11 points in back-to-back games for this team. He has been getting consistent minutes, but will need to find a way to knock down some shots. He has struggled with his outside shooting over the past three games (1-for-12 3PT) and will not help this team if he is not knocking down open jumpers.