Handlogten's return could impact Florida's Final Four chances
Sometime between now and Saturday when the 5th-ranked Gators take on 6th-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville, Micah Handlogten will be making a decision that could impact Florida’s chances to reach the Final Four. Handlogten, who was supposed to take a medical redshirt while recovering from a fractured leg suffered in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game last March, has been practicing in the last couple of weeks. He was scheduled to play in the Gators’ 89-59 win over Georgia, but he changed his mind and sat the game out.
As of Saturday afternoon, Florida coach Todd Golden seemed to think that Handlogten had made the decision to stay with the plan to sit out the year, but left the door open for a change of mind.
"As of this moment, I would say he’s probably out," Golden said after the Gators had wiped out Georgia. "But he could wake up tomorrow and call me and say, ‘Hey man, that looked fun. Maybe let’s get out there next Saturday,’ but we’re gonna let him create his own timeline for returning. Whether that’s next week or next year is really gonna be up to him.”
At 7-1, Handlogten is a serious rim protector and was one of the nation’s most effective offensive rebounders prior to his injury last year. As a sophomore at UF in 2024, Handlogten averaged 5.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Add him to Florida’s big man rotation of 6-11 Alex Condon, 6-10 Rueben Chinyelu, 6-9 Thomas Haugh and 6-9 Sam Alexis and the Gators might have the kind of depth, defense and rebounding that could carry them all the way to the NCAA Final Four.
“He’s healthy,” Golden said. “He’s been practicing and playing five-on-five in practice. I mean, he’s been going up against some really good SEC bigs every day in practice and we wouldn’t have allowed him to make that initial decision if we didn’t think he was ready.
“I think he could play, but again, it’s up to him. I want to make that very clear. We are not trying to pressure him to be out there if he’s not comfortable. Do I think he could be out there playing? Yeah, but again, he almost missed half the year. The game has changed a little bit. These guys have to have the ability to decide their paths and with his situation being so unique and that injury being so severe, we have a lot of patience with his decision making, what he’s going through.”
Even without Handlogten, the Gators have a legitimate shot at making it to the Final Four. The Gators have won when they’re hitting on all cylinders and they’ve won when they are less than their best. Last week they were less than their best at South Carolina, yet they came from 14 points down and won the game on a Will Richard shot with 4.8 seconds to go. Against Georgia, the Gators were in full beast mode at both ends of the court. For the second straight game the Gators had 13 steals. The Gators won the rebounding battle handily and placed five in double figures led by Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin with 17 each. Will Richard had 16, Alex Condon had 14 and Tommy Haugh had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
When the Gators get it going at an intense level at both ends of the court, they are as good as any team in the country. Add Handlogten to the rotation and the Gators have another intimidator in the paint and another five fouls among the bigs, so important at tournament time when most games are called tighter. With 25 fouls to give that are at least 6-9, the Gators can have the depth to succeed in the paint even in a game in which the men in stripes have quick whistles.
BRACKETOLOGY: JERRY PALM HAS GATORS 2-SEED MIDWEST
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports released his latest bracketology Sunday with Florida projecting as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional. The Gators are one of a record 13 teams that Palm projects in the NCAA field from the SEC. The Gators are holding steady as a No. 2 while Auburn and Alabama are both No. 1s. Tennessee, which was a No. 1, moved down to No. 2 (East) after the loss to Auburn.
Here are Palm’s projections for SEC teams:
No. 1 seeds: Auburn (South); Alabama (Midwest)
No. 2 seeds: FLORIDA (Midwest); Tennessee (East)
No. 3 seeds: Kentucky (East); Texas A&M (West)
No. 4 seeds: Ole Miss (West); Mississippi State (East)
No. 6 seed: Missouri (Midwest)
No. 8 seeds: Oklahoma (West); Georgia (East)
No. 9 seed: Vanderbilt (Midwest)
No. 11 seed: Texas (South)
SEC BASKETBALL
No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC): Is there a rift with head coach Nate Oats and point guard Mark Sears? Sears sat the second half of Bama’s win over LSU Saturday. After the game Oats said he went with the guys he “thought gave us the best chance to win” and then dismissed any further questions. Sears didn’t score in 17 first half minutes. Alabama is No. 7 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Arkansas (12-8, 1-6 SEC): With the injury and surgery to Boggie Fland’s hand, the Razorbacks are down to eight scholarship players. Fland had surgery on his hand that will keep him out of action the rest of the regular season. Arkansas is No. 58 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC): Johni Broome missed only two games with his severe ankle sprain. He returned Saturday night to score 16 points and grab 13 rebounds in leading Auburn to a 53-51 win over No. 6 Tennessee. Saturday morning, upon finding his car plastered with Tennessee logos, Broome said he made the decision he was going to play no matter what. Auburn is No. 1 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 4 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC): Florida’s five SEC wins are by an average of 18.6 points per game. The Gators two losses are by a combined seven points. The Gators are No. 5 in the NCAA NET rankings and No. 5 at kenpom.com.
Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC): Since breaking into the Associated Press top 25, Georgia is 0-4. The Bulldogs have a chance to break their losing streak midweek when they play host to South Carolina. Georgia is No. 35 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC): The Wildcats went 0-2 last week, losing at home to Alabama and on the road at Vanderbilt. Kentucky is No. 14 in the NCAA NET rankings.
LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC): Football tight end Trey’Dez Green saw action in LSU’s 80-73 loss to Alabama. In nine minutes, Green (6-7, 245) scored two points, grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot. LSU is No. 67 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 15 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC): This was a week of blowing 14-point leads. After blowing a 14-point lead in regulation, the Bulldogs eked out a 65-60 win against South Carolina in Columbia. Earlier in the week, South Carolina blew a 14-point lead in a loss to Florida. Mississippi State is No. 21 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 22 Missouri (16-4, 5-2 SEC): Caleb Grill came off the bench to knock down six 3-pointers Saturday night, leading Missouri to an 83-75 win over Ole Miss. Missouri is No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC): Oklahoma hung on to beat Arkansas, 65-62, in a game in which the Sooners once held a 12-point lead. Oklahoma is No. 47 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 23 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC): Since getting off to a 4-0 start in SEC play, the Rebels have lost their last three games. Ole Miss is No. 22 in the NCAA NET rankings.
South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC): Four of South Carolina’s seven losses in Southeastern Conference play are by a combined 12 points. South Carolina is No. 90 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC): The Vols’ next three games are No. 9 Kentucky, No. 5 Florida and No. 22 Missouri. The Vols are No. 4 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC): After getting blown out by 24 to No. 5 Florida, the Longhorns bounced back with wins over No. 22 Missouri and No. 13 Texas A&M. Texas is No. 32 in the NCAA NET rankings.
No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC): The Aggies blew a 22-point lead Saturday when Texas came from behind to score the upset. In the last six minutes the Aggies were outscored 18-5. Texas A&M is No. 12 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC): Vanderbilt outscored Kentucky 8-2 in the final 3:19 to upset Kentucky, 74-69. Vanderbilt is No. 37 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Tuesday’s games
No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC)
Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC) at No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC)
South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC) at Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC)
Wednesday’s games
No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) at LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC)
No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC)
Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC)
Saturday’s games
No. 5 FLORIDA (18-2, 5-2 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (17-3, 4-3 SEC)
No. 1 Auburn (18-1, 6-0 SEC) at No. 16 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC)
Georgia (14-6, 2-5 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1 SEC)
Arkansas (12-8, 1-6 SEC) at No. 9 Kentucky (14-5, 3-3 SEC)
No. 13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-10, 0-7 SEC)
No. 22 Missouri (16-5, 5-2 SEC) at No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3 SEC)
Vanderbilt (16-4, 4-3 SEC) at Oklahoma (15-4, 2-4 SEC)
Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at LSU (12-7, 1-5 SEC)
At first, he could come off the bench. Once he got his sea legs under him, he could start and Rueben Chinyelu could come off the bench. That kind of lineup could make our Beloved Gators almost permanently “scary good.”
would be a nice addition but who's minutes get cut for him to see serious minutes- read elsewhere the portal might be in play for him