****Game: UF @ Missouri****

[The_AlphaGator1906]

We are back on the right track after crushing UK and AU. However, Missouri is looking for revenge and coming off a loss at Arkansas (It is mind boggling to try and understand how Arkansas is so good at home but so horrible on the road). It's going to be a hard fought game at their house. The atmosphere is going to be nuts.

Missouri is going to have one their key players back in 6-8 Laurence Bowers. They are averaging 84 points at home compared to 64 on the road. It should be a fun and exciting game. I think we pull it out in the second half though if everything goes according to plan. I could be wrong and crazier things have happened this year. What are you thoughts/predictions for the game?

[rogdochar]

Mizzou has 6 players averaging double figures scoring.
Gonna be a worthy Gator challenge due to circumstances.
Hope our shooters are "on" tomorrow night.... but more-so I
hope we get it inside to Young ... and Patric scores well.



We need to show their home-crowd that the Gators are for real.

[NVGator]

The line opened today at UF -5 and went to -5.5 for a couple hours before settling back at -5.

It's going to be a tough game, on the road, prime time with the world watching, waiting to see if the Gators prove worthy of a 1 seed.



Go Gators!

[BostonGator84]

Not to be a negative Nancy...but I don't have a good feeling about this game.

I don't think it will be as bad as the Arkansas game, but I won't be surprised at all if we lose this one.

Hope to come on here later tonight and eat crow...

On the bright side though, I'm taking the family down to Gainesville tomorrow, going to spend vacation week in some warmth, hopefully take in a Gator game or two while we're there. Fun times

[Jabberdave]

Not to be a negative Nancy...but I don't have a good feeling about this game.

I don't think it will be as bad as the Arkansas game, but I won't be surprised at all if we lose this one.

Hope to come on here later tonight and eat crow...

On the bright side though, I'm taking the family down to Gainesville tomorrow, going to spend vacation week in some warmth, hopefully take in a Gator game or two while we're there. Fun times

As usual, we're closed.

[Sasquatch Gator]

I've already said it, but I wouldn't be surprised or upset if we lost tonight. Missouri is something like 81-4 at home over the last however many years. On the flip side, I'd obviously be ecstatic if we won.

[Class of '78]

Comes down to how well we defend and crash the boards. I think we win by a dozen.

[beamfox]

We are back on the right track after crushing UK and AU. However, Missouri is looking for revenge and coming off a loss at Arkansas (It is mind boggling to try and understand how Arkansas is so good at home but so horrible on the road). It's going to be a hard fought game at their house. The atmosphere is going to be nuts.

Missouri is going to have one their key players back in 6-8 Laurence Bowers. They are averaging 84 points at home compared to 64 on the road. It should be a fun and exciting game. I think we pull it out in the second half though if everything goes according to plan. I could be wrong and crazier things have happened this year. What are you thoughts/predictions for the game?

Somehow I knew we'd be back on the right track.

[WhoGator]

We are back on the right track after crushing UK and AU. However, Missouri is looking for revenge and coming off a loss at Arkansas (It is mind boggling to try and understand how Arkansas is so good at home but so horrible on the road).

Missouri is even better at home (16-0) and equally dismal on the road (1-6). Key is to get the crowd out early, something we failed to do at Arkansas.

[mrgator]

Not to be a negative Nancy...but I don't have a good feeling about this game.

I don't think it will be as bad as the Arkansas game, but I won't be surprised at all if we lose this one.

Hope to come on here later tonight and eat crow...

On the bright side though, I'm taking the family down to Gainesville tomorrow, going to spend vacation week in some warmth, hopefully take in a Gator game or two while we're there. Fun times

I'm putting myself on the negative nancy list for this game too. I am very excited to come onto the board tomorrow to eat a large helping of crow but for now I'm not holding my breath. So far we have shown no ability to handle adversity this year. Don't get me wrong...I think we are a very good team but we have yet to show that we can win in a dog fight that is close. UF has faced adversity 3 times this year and didn't respond well in any of those. I hope we show a different mental attitude tonight as we go into a hostile environment against a very hungry team.

[WhoGator]

Not to be a negative Nancy...but I don't have a good feeling about this game.
I don't think it will be as bad as the Arkansas game, but I won't be surprised at all if we lose this one.
Hope to come on here later tonight and eat crow...

On the bright side though, I'm taking the family down to Gainesville tomorrow, going to spend vacation week in some warmth, hopefully take in a Gator game or two while we're there. Fun times

I'm putting myself on the negative nancy list for this game too. I am very excited to come onto the board tomorrow to eat a large helping of crow but for now I'm not holding my breath. So far we have shown no ability to handle adversity this year. Don't get me wrong...I think we are a very good team but we have yet to show that we can win in a dog fight that is close. UF has faced adversity 3 times this year and didn't respond well in any of those. I hope we show a different mental attitude tonight as we go into a hostile environment against a very hungry team.

I can see us losing, but not because we have no ability to overcome adversity. Define adversity...
If adversity is overcoming injuries, supensions, etc... we've won some of those. If adversity is coming out on the road at Georgia, shooting lousy and trailing at the half... we overcame it. If adversity is playing most of the first half without Young and Murphy because they are both in foul trouble, check. But if adversity is having less points than the opponent when the game is over, you're right, we have yet to overcome that and I doubt we will.

[Flaglergator]

We need some solid leadership and early scoring from Murphy and Boynton to set the tone for the rest of the team. Some solid D and we win by 10.

[rogdochar]

Not to be a negative Nancy...but I don't have a good feeling about this game.

I don't think it will be as bad as the Arkansas game, but I won't be surprised at all if we lose this one.

Hope to come on here later tonight and eat crow...

Hope it's an expensive platter of crow and you get stuck with the bill.

[WobbleGator]

Gators by 4

[mrgator]

Not to be a negative Nancy...but I don't have a good feeling about this game.
I don't think it will be as bad as the Arkansas game, but I won't be surprised at all if we lose this one.
Hope to come on here later tonight and eat crow...

On the bright side though, I'm taking the family down to Gainesville tomorrow, going to spend vacation week in some warmth, hopefully take in a Gator game or two while we're there. Fun times

I'm putting myself on the negative nancy list for this game too. I am very excited to come onto the board tomorrow to eat a large helping of crow but for now I'm not holding my breath. So far we have shown no ability to handle adversity this year. Don't get me wrong...I think we are a very good team but we have yet to show that we can win in a dog fight that is close. UF has faced adversity 3 times this year and didn't respond well in any of those. I hope we show a different mental attitude tonight as we go into a hostile environment against a very hungry team.

I can see us losing, but not because we have no ability to overcome adversity. Define adversity...
If adversity is overcoming injuries, supensions, etc... we've won some of those. If adversity is coming out on the road at Georgia, shooting lousy and trailing at the half... we overcame it. If adversity is playing most of the first half without Young and Murphy because they are both in foul trouble, check. But if adversity is having less points than the opponent when the game is over, you're right, we have yet to overcome that and I doubt we will.

I get your point. You are right to say this team has overcome adversity this season. Injuries, suspensions, etc. to make it to 21-3. That should be commended. And it should be noted that I see this team as a team making a deep run and possibly winning it all regardless of their seeding.

I guess I should be more specific about my concerns for tonight's game and better qualify my remark: I don't think this team has handled adversity well when their backs have been against the wall. We have either blown every team away by double digits or have lost the close ones. I saw this team collapse against Zona, get pushed around by Kansas St. and look dazed and unable to respond when a team like Arkansas played above their station. There has been no in between. Tonight, I expect Missouri is going to play out of there mind and we might very well face the same adversity we did against Kansas St. and Arkansas.

Do these Gators finally win a close one? Will they be able to swing a game in their favor when they aren't winning by 10+ points per game? I hope so. Just don't feel good about it until I see it.

[cubsfan2123]

The Arkansas game was a fluke, but much like Arkansas, Missouri is a completely different team at home. The key in the Arkansas game was how fast Arky came out, making their first 3, 3-pointers and were up 9-0 in 90 seconds. If I remember right, they normally shoot 24% from 3 land, but in that game, made 7 of their first 9. It was an anomaly. With that said, Florida failed to handle their quick start and didn't attack the deficit as a team, but rather played more individual basketball.

This game has a very similar set up and feel to that game. The key will be can Florida keep the game close for the first 10 minutes and not let Missouri gain momentum and keep the crowd in it.

[mrgator]

Oh yeah...I also give them very little credit for playing lousy first half ball against a terrible UGA team only to win the second half. While I loved the comeback in football against Louisiana Lafayette, I hardly felt like that game was a sign of good things for our football team. Same for the UGA bball game.

[rogdochar]

The magic 'Arkansawish' adversity is what makes this game a really
good 'circumstench' thing for our Gators to conquer. It'll put some
tourney-needed fire in their bellies, at the same time dowsing the
embers of self-doubt past losses do subconsciously fan.

Where's the extra-boost coming from ? :
1.. Young being included enough to show up ?
2.. Murphy pushing himself ?
3.. Boynton becoming Boynton of days gone by ?
4.. Frazier just firing it in unbridled ?
5.. Rosario taking charge driving + dishing + raining good 3s ?
6.. Scottie/Kenny befuddling Zoo's ball movement ?

See, Gators got lots of resources ... not likely all fail to come in play.

[WobbleGator]

Stop being positive rog. We have no chance.

[mrgator]

I too chalked the Arkansas up as an anomaly but combined with our other road woes, it makes me worry about tonight's game a bit. I have every belief that if we can play within our game we will win. This game needs to be played like the Ole Miss game. Take what they give us early and make them work for their shots. Guard the 3 and give them the early inside buckets if they happen to be falling. Eventually the game will come down to a run or two and our team is better equipped on both ends of the floor to win that kind of game.