Florida basketball lost their anchor defensively and their best rebounder to a season-ending injury.
The Florida Gators are currently one of the hottest teams in the nation, as they are tied for the SEC lead at 11-2 and have seven straight wins, including two wins in which they scored over 100 points.
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But Florida is now losing their anchor defensively and their top rebounder, John Egbunu, for the season due to a torn ACL.
Florida center John Egbunu will miss the rest of the season with a torn left ACL, per the school. Was averaging 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 15, 2017
This is one player that the Gators could ill afford to lose. Egbunu is only averaging 7.8 points but is grabbing 6.6 rebounds, blocking 1.5 shots and is shooting 49 percent from the field.
The Gators will now have to rely on Justin Leon and Kevarrius Hayes in the painted area. Hayes is averaging 1.6 blocks (the most on the team) but is only playing 15.4 minutes per game.
So what does this mean in the big picture?
The Kentucky Wildcats are all the more likely to win the SEC title. The Wildcats and Gators are set to matchup on February 25th at Rupp Arena, and Michael White’s team may have major issues defending Edrice ‘Bam’ Adebayo inside without their junior big man.
But this also lowers the Gators’ ceiling in the long term. Florida is obviously going to make the tournament with or without Egbunu, but will they significantly drop down multiple seed lines because of this injury? Remember, as well as the Gators have been playing offensively, they are still a team that relies on their toughness and energy defensively. Egbunu is the center piece of that as he allows their guards to gamble and make plays on the perimeter.
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Without a dominant and experienced rim protector, Florida could be bounced early in the Big Dance. Someone will need to step up!