No. 24 Florida faces road-awful Missouri ahead of Kentucky (Feb 02, 2017)
Florida just won back-to-back road games by an average of 33.5 points and appears primed to add another convincing win to the ledger.
That is because the No. 24 Gators host woeful Missouri on Thursday in an SEC game.
The Tigers (5-15, 0-8) have dropped 12 consecutive games since defeating Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 6. They also have lost 13 straight in the SEC dating to last season.
But those two things might not even be the worst streak attached to the program.
Consider this: Missouri has lost 30 straight road games since beating Arkansas 75-71 on Jan. 28, 2014.
The program has never won a road game under third-year coach Kim Anderson and attempts to end that dubious fact against a suddenly hot Florida squad.
The Gators (16-5, 6-2) rolled over LSU and Oklahoma on their two-game road swing and seem to have righted themselves after back-to-back losses to South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Yet a Saturday home showdown looms against eighth-ranked Kentucky and that worries Florida coach Mike White.
He is intent on making sure none of the players peek past Thursday and start anticipating the much more important affair.
"They are not going to overlook Thursday or they are going to be sitting by me," White told reporters. "We're going to find five guys that are really excited to play Missouri.
"We're not good enough period, and even if we were, it wouldn't matter. ... If I hear Kentucky from one of our players, they may not play. We are preparing for Missouri."
That said, sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes admits he has thought about Kentucky. Just not a lot.
The player who established career highs with 20 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's rout of Oklahoma thinks worrying about his own team is the best route.
"It's mostly focusing on us, making sure we stay true to ourselves, keep doing what we're doing, don't change anything depending on whether it's the worst team or the best team we're playing against," Hayes said. "Just play the way we know how and everything will work out."
Things worked out really well as the Gators averaged 95 points in their last two outings.
Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen leads the squad with a 13.6 scoring average despite a recent dip in production that has seen him score 11 or fewer points in five of the past six games.
Senior backup guard Canyon Barry (12.6) and junior forward Devin Robinson (12.0) also average in double digits for the Gators.
Sophomore forward Kevin Puryear (11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds) and junior forward Jordan Barnett (11.5 points, 6.6) rebounds lead Missouri.
Senior forward Russell Woods (8.2 points) has upped his play of late and had a career-best 18 points to go along with eight rebounds in Saturday's 63-53 loss to South Carolina.
Woods feels some of those Missouri streaks are on the verge of ending.
"I think we are very close at times in the game," Woods said. "I believe the whole team plays hard. We never try to give up. We believe in each other each every game, every practice. So I believe each game that we are right there."
Florida has won four of the previous six meetings, including last season's 82-72 victory at Missouri.
