Florida’s fifth game on the SEC schedule against the Texas Longhorns in Gainesville has turned into a must-win after the Gators fell to the Missouri Tigers at the O’Connell Center on Tuesday.
The good news is that Florida will enter the matchup with a clean bill of health, while Texas is down junior guard Chendall Weaver, according to the official SEC Availability Report.
Weaver transferred to Texas last season after spending his first year with UT Arlington and turned into a fan favorite off the bench. An effort player, Weaver delivered key rebounds and sprawled out for any loose ball that came during his 18.4 minutes per game a year ago.
He averaged 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds over 21.2 minutes through 15 games this season, starting nine of those contests. Weaver has missed the past two games against Tennessee and Oklahoma after hurting his right hip two minutes into his time on the court versus Auburn.
“Well, 77 rebounds went out the door,” Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry said. “He’s always one of those guys you can count on that can give you some really impactful and meaningful rebounds in key times. Who can emerge and do that for us right now?”
Florida allowed Missouri to compete on the boards in its loss Tuesday. Knowing that Texas won’t have a key player in the fight down low could be a positive omen for the Orange and Blue. Weaver was a top rebounding guard in the SEC and Texas is in the bottom quartile of the conference.
Texas forward Arthur Kaluma is listed as probable and Florida remains healthy so far in conference play.
SEC Availability Report
The SEC is mandating injury reports for conference matchups across three major sports in 2024.
“School personnel must submit availability reports three days before each football game, with daily updates and a final report 90 minutes before game time. For basketball and baseball, reports are filed the night before the game, with an update on game day.”
Players can earn one of five designations. In order of declining health, they are: available, probable, questionable, doubtful and out. Available players are not listed on the online report, but every other designation is.
Failure to report a player’s injury accurately or in a timely fashion result in penalties of $25,000-$100,000 for football and $15,000-$25,000 for basketball and baseball.
How to watch Florida-Texas
Florida and Texas square off on Saturday, Jan. 18, with tipoff slated for 4 p.m. ET at the O’Connell Center. ESPN2 has the broadcast.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.