Florida's Colin Castleton Breaks Hand vs. Ole Miss

Florida announced that forward Colin Castleton broke his hand against Ole Miss on Wednesday. His recovery timeline is currently unclear.

Photo: Colin Castleton; Credit: Zach Goodall

Florida big man Colin Castleton suffered a broken right hand in the Gators' 79-64 victory over Ole Miss on Wednesday night, the program announced. 

Castleton, a fifth-year senior forward, exited the game at the 15:08 mark in the second half and immediately went to the locker room for an X-ray. A recovery timetable was not made available upon the announcement of the injury. 

Castleton shared his disappointment about the wound after the news broke. 

Don’t even have words 😞

— Colin (@Castleton_) February 16, 2023

The loss is a brutal one for Florida, which rose to 14-12 (7-6 SEC) following the win over Mississippi as the Gators attempt to sneak back into the bubble of teams vying for a spot in March's NCAA Tournament.

Across 26 appearances this season, in all of which he has started, Castleton has averaged 16 points and 7.7 rebounds per game with a field goal percentage of 50%. Prior to Wednesday night's matchup, Castleton had posted 20+ points in four consecutive games for the Gators.

"If [Castleton is] going to be out for an extended period of time," head coach Todd Golden said after the game, "it's next man up.". 

Senior Jason Jitoboh filled in for Castleton for the majority of the remainder of the contest and accumulated four points, two rebounds and two assists in 17 total minutes of action. Freshman Aleks Szymczyk took the court in the final minute of play and scored the first basket against an SEC team of his career.

Jitoboh and Szymczyk are the only players on Florida's roster capable of playing the traditional five spot and will be expected to take on that specific role in Castleton's place until the graduate student is cleared to return, if that is to happen this season. The Gators will likely utilize a small-ball lineup with forward Alex Fudge at the five while Castleton is sidelined, as well.  

Florida will travel to face Arkansas (17-8) this Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. ET, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.

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