Gators return home to take on Missouri

Coming off of a great win on the road against LSU, Florida basketball returns back to the O-Dome to take on a solid Missouri Tigers team.

Check out our full, in-depth preview where we cover betting tips and storylines for the game here.

At first glance, Missouri looks like a daunting task for the Gators. They’re scoring 85.7 points per game, a number that the Gators just can’t keep up with. They also have two guys shooting the three-ball at over 40%, outclassing UF from deep.

But a deeper dive will show that the Gators may have the advantage over the 20th-ranked Tigers.

Road troubles for the Tigers

As dominant as Missouri has been at times at home, they’ve been pedestrian on the road. With two losses in SEC play to Arkansas and Texas A&M, as well as a close game to a bad Wichita State team, it seems that Missouri just doesn’t travel well.

This reflects in their shooting too. Through SEC play, Mizzou is 20-51 from deep, a 39% rate when they’re at home. On the road, however, they go down to 13-50, which is a 26% rate.

This is a stat that bodes very well for the Gators. If they can play solid defense and force a few turnovers, Missouri’s road struggles will likely show themselves.

Florida basketball can rely on Castleton

Colin Castleton has been a defensive juggernaut over the past two games. Seven blocks against UGA and five more against LSU have greatly improved the Gators’ defense.

Now, he looks to get back to scoring at a high level. Colin has a major size advantage over Missouri, and whoever guards him for most of the game will have to work hard to contain him.

Castleton also averages almost two more rebounds than the top glass cleaner for Missouri, so a double-double isn’t out of the question.

If Castleton can take advantage of his matchups, and guys like Myreon Jones and Kowacie Reeves continue to play well, the Gators will have a great weekend.