Florida basketball gets a chance at redemption against Ole Miss on Saturday

Florida basketball has a chance to even the season series against Ole Miss on Saturday in the team’s seventh game without center Colin Castleton.

The Gators were supposed to open the conference schedule against the Rebels, but the NCAA’s health and safety protocols delayed the matchup until late January. Mississippi won by 16 and handed Florida its first loss without its star player.

Florida is down two big men this time around. Jason Jitoboh, who took over as the team’s starting center for a few games, will miss the rest of the season while he recovers from eye surgery. He led the team in scoring against Ole Miss last month with 12 points on 6 of 6 shooting. Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji both scored 11 points in that game, and the former has been playing his best ball of the season over the past few games.

The “next man up” mentality is a bit of a cliche in sports, but it’s the reality when injuries hit a team as hard. The good bit of news is that Castleton is progressing with his left shoulder injury and participating more in practice.

Ole Miss will be without one of its key players as well, though. Guard Daeshun Ruffin will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury that needs surgery. He led the team in scoring against Florida the last time around with 21 points. That puts the scoring load on Matthew Murrell, who had 20 against UF.

If Florida can play strong defense in this one, it should be able to get one back at home in front of the Rowdies.

How to follow Florida basketball vs Ole Miss

Gameday betting odds for Florida basketball vs Ole Miss

Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m EST at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville.

Projected Starting Lineups:

FLORIDA