Before the Mizzou men’s basketball team faced No. 5 Florida, the SEC pulled off its only upset of the day in Tuscaloosa. No. 21 Ole Miss defeated No. 4 Alabama 74-64 for its first road win ever against an AP Top 5 opponent; The Rebels were 0-34 in such contests before Thursday.

A few hours later, on the same station that featured the Rebels’ win over the Crimson Tide, the Tigers also defeated Goliath and made programming history of their own in the process. Mizzou defeated No. 5 Florida 83-82, earning its first road win against an AP Top 5 opponent since Jan. 21, 2012 against No. 3 Baylor.

The Tigers dominated the first half. Their shining star was Caleb Grill, who enjoyed cooking Southern barbecue for the Gators. He shot 4/5 from three-point range in the first half, including three shots within 45 seconds of game action just before the midway point of the first half. Furthermore, every shot he took was extremely controversial. Even when Florida started covering screens and sending extra help off the ball in hopes of containing Grill, he kept breaking free. He would finish at 6/10 from beyond the arc.

Grill wasn’t the only one who dominated, however. Mizzou was also successful on the glass, which was extremely surprising from a statistical perspective. Florida entered Thursday’s game as the best rebounding team in college basketball; They led the nation with an average rebound margin of 12.7, a rebound percentage of 59.7% and 46.1 rebounds per game. But the Gators struggled to keep the Tigers on the boards as the underdogs won the rebounding battle 17-15. The only Gator to perform well was Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 18 of UF’s 34 points in the first 20 minutes.

When the halftime buzzer sounded, history was made as Mizzou led 50-34. The Tigers hadn’t reached the half-century mark in the first half against an SEC opponent since Jan. 11, 2020 against Florida; Additionally, they hadn’t scored as many goals in the first half on the road since January 21, 2009 against Oklahoma State.

However, the Gators fought back in the second half. Florida’s defense stepped up, Mizzou went cold on the shooting front and the Gators found success on the fast break. With just under eight minutes left in regulation, Florida had cut the lead to two as Exatech Arena was arguably the loudest arena of the entire game.

In addition to the shrill screams of excited students, the gymnasium was also filled with the sweet sound of blowing whistles as the physical performance was in full swing. A total of 47 fouls were committed, including one that seemed to turn the tide just nine minutes before the end of regular time. When Tony Perkins was guarded by Alijah Martin, Perkins attempted to break through, probably to create space. However, Perkins’ elbow hit Martin in his, er, groin and Martin collapsed to the ground. No foul was called on the field; However, upon closer inspection, Perkins’ cup check was scored as Flagrant 2, eliminating Perkins from the game. The Gators continued with an 8-0 run.

But Mizzou didn’t give up; Instead, it stayed strong. Despite more whistles and struggles at the free throw line, the Gators were never able to advance. Mark Mitchell, who shot just over 60% from the free throw line on Thursday, made two huge free throws to put Mizzou up by four with 12.4 seconds left; After a layup by Alex Condon, Grill hit two more free throws to seal the win, avenging two previous misses.

Grill finished with 22 points. Mitchell (15), Anthony Robinson II (12) and Tamar Bates (10) also each finished with double-digit points. The Tigers also committed just eight turnovers and lost the rebounding battle by just one. This included 15 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second-chance points. Clayton Jr. finished with 28 points; However, it wasn’t enough for his Gators to avoid a surprising defeat.

The magnitude of this triumph cannot be overstated. Mizzou now has a very special win that will likely pay off big come Selection Sunday. The Tigers return home for their next game against Arkansas on Saturday. The meeting point is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CST.