In search of a late-season rush that could lead to an NCAA Tournament berth, Florida is well aware that a second loss to Ole Miss would be a stain on its resume.
The Gators get a chance to avenge an earlier defeat to the Rebels on Saturday afternoon when they play host to the rematch at Gainesville, Fla.
Coming off a dramatic 66-65 victory Wednesday at Missouri, Florida (14-8, 4-5 SEC) projects among the last teams in the NCAA Tournament field — or one of the first teams out.
In that light, the Gators’ rally at Missouri was huge. They trailed by nine with 7:55 remaining before sinking 17 consecutive free throws in the second half, including two by Tyree Appleby with 7.9 seconds left that put them ahead by a point. A culminating defensive stop at the other end gave Florida a win it absolutely needed.
“Incredibly resilient group,” Gators coach Mike White said. “Really proud of them, but not surprised with the fight they showed.”
Florida has played without leading scorer and rebounder Colin Castleton (shoulder) for the past six games, missing his 15.4 points and 9.1 rebounds, His status for Saturday’s game remains uncertain.
Ole Miss (12-10, 3-6) also has injury concerns coming out of Tuesday’s 76-72 upset victory at No. 25 LSU. Freshman point guard Daeshun Ruffin scored 19 points against the Tigers, but in the waning minutes of the game sustained a torn ACL that will cost him the rest of the season.
“Daeshun was just hitting his stride and establishing himself as one of the best point guards in the SEC,” Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis said.
Ole Miss, whose own tournament hopes were sent reeling with a four-game losing streak in mid-January, is playing without leading scorer Jarkel Joiner (back) and Robert Allen (knee). The Rebels’ only remaining double-figure scorer is Matthew Murrell, who averages 10.4 points a game.
Still, they managed to score their first win at LSU in nine years.
“It wasn’t pretty at times, but gosh that team competed and I’m just so happy for them,” Davis said.
Luis Rodriguez came off the bench to score 15 points with 12 rebounds, and Nysier Brooks had 10 points with eight rebounds. Murrell, who scored nine points against LSU, poured in 20 points on Jan. 24 when the Rebels drilled the Gators 70-54.
Ole Miss held Florida to just 38.0-percent shooting in that game.
–Field Level Media
