Florida Basketball: Gators’ Chris Chiozza steals win over Missouri

The Florida Gators won a tough game on the road against Cuonzo Martin and Missouri thanks to a late steal and bucket by Chris Chiozza.

There is no harder working player in college basketball than the Florida Gators’ Chris Chiozza.

The generously-listed 6’0 guard plays each game faster, harder, and with more passion than most college basketball players play with in their entire lifetime – just look at his rebounding numbers.

However, Chiozza’s effort may be the difference in the SEC standings at the end of the year, as he stole the ball late in the game to literally steal a 77-75 victory over the Missouri Tigers on the road.

Missouri, who lost star-player Michael Porter Jr. earlier in the season, has bounced back strongly and looks to be at least a borderline NCAA Tournament team. It is highly unlikely that a loss on the road to Cuonzo Martin (a coach that specialized in beating Florida when he was at Tennessee) would have impacted the Gators’ NCAA Tournament expectations very much, but it would have given them their first loss in the SEC.

The SEC is one of the best conferences in college basketball this season. The teams that many thought to be the worst heading in have shown that they are legitimate NCAA Tournament contenders, and this could legitimately be a nine-bid postseason league if we include the NIT.

Every loss gives another team an opportunity to take a step forward and, while, it is still early, one game could be the difference between the top of the SEC once we move into March.

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Chiozza won this game for Florida, but he might have just made the difference in the race for the SEC.