No. 8 Florida vs. Mississippi State final score: Gators cruise to 82-47 victory

No. 8 Florida cruised to a comfortable eighth-straight victory on Saturday, easily dispatching unranked Mississippi State by a score of 82-47. Florida shot 56.4 percent on the night and managed to dominate the boards, pulling down 40 rebounds to the Bulldogs' 16.

Erik Murphy and Kenny Boynton both had strong games to push Florida to the victory. Murphy shot 6-for-8 from the field and pulled down six rebounds. He had 18 points on the night, while Boynton shot 7-for-11 with four rebounds, also good for 18 points.

After the first half, Florida led by a score of 41-19, and it was smooth sailing from there. They started the second half off with a 15-2 run and didn't look back. They slowed down near the end, but that was with some key players on the bench and without worry of a comeback from the Bulldogs, who are now 7-11 on the season, with a 2-4 mark in the SEC.

Mississippi State shot just 32.7 percent from the field, and made just 20.0 percent of their three-point attempts. Fred Thomas had 19 points and seven steals on the night, but that was the only bright spot for the Bulldogs.

Next, the Gators will return home for a matchup against unranked South Carolina, on Jan. 30. The Bulldogs will try to recover from their fourth-straight loss by going at Texas A&M on the same day.