Three-minute preview: Missouri men’s basketball vs. Florida

Florida at Missouri

▪ WHEN/WHERE: 8 p.m. Tuesday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia

▪ TV/RADIO: SEC Network; KMBZ (98.1 FM)

▪ ABOUT MISSOURI (7-20, 1-13 SEC): The Tigers will try to halt the longest skid in program history at 13 games against Florida, which boats the fourth-best scoring defense in SEC play at 62.6 points per game. The Gators also are a good defensive rebounding team, so the Tigers need to put a premium on creating second-chance opportunities and cashing them in. Missouri also needs to find a way to generate intensity from the opening whistle and to begin the second half. Slow starts have plagued the Tigers, but especially in losses to Arkansas and Vanderbilt last week.

▪ ABOUT FLORIDA (13-14, 6-8 SEC): The Gators have lost three straight conference road games and are only 2-5 away from Gainesville in SEC play. Florida will be without its top two scorers, Michael Frazier II and Dorian Finney-Smith. Frazier, who averages 13.2 points per game, will miss his fifth consecutive game because of a sprained ankle, while Finney Smith, who averages 12.9 points, will remain suspended for a third straight game for an undisclosed violation of team rules. The Gators have averaged 56.5 points the last two games without Frazier and Finney-Smith. Freshman Devin Robinson has picked up the scoring slack with 12 points in both games.

This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Three-minute preview: Missouri men’s basketball vs. Florida."