UF loses SEC standout Castleton to damaged hand

Florida leading scorer Colin Castleton suffered a damaged hand in the Gators’ game Wednesday versus Ole Miss, according to the team.Castleton left early in the 2nd half and the official diagnosis came quickly after the Gators concluded the 79-64 win.A 6-foot-11 center who began

his career at Michigan, Castleton was on track for a first-team All-SEC campaign. He was balancing 16.5 points(3rd in the SEC ), 7.9 rebounds (6th)and 3.0 blocks (very first) going into the week and had averaged 24.8 points and 9.5 rebounds over his previous 4 games.Editor’s Picks Castleton made second-team All-SEC honors last season after averaging 16.2 points and 9.0 rebounds.Florida went into the week on the periphery of the bubble, requiring a strong surface to gather NCAA competition consideration.The Gators had lost 3 in a row prior to beating Ole Miss on Wednesday, but Castleton’s injury will make it hard for

Todd Golden’s team to make a bid.Without Castleton down the stretch, Florida will need to rely more greatly on senior big man Jason Jitoboh. He played 17 minutes in Wednesday’s game, ending up with 4 points and 4 rebounds.