As Florida gets ready to take on Kentucky for the regular season finale, the main concern for Gator fans is the health of Thomas Haugh. The star forward missed Tuesday’s game with a foot injury, and he has popped up again on the availability report ahead of Saturday’s game.
But if we are to take Todd Golden’s word from Tuesday at face value in addition to the practical timing of it all, it’s not time to panic just yet about Haugh.
Thomas Haugh shows up on the availability report
Haugh has been listed as probable for the game against Kentucky. This follows Haugh sitting out against Mississippi State and comes on the heels of him rolling his ankle against Texas.
After the game on Tuesday, Golden indicated that he didn’t think the injury to Haugh was anything severe, and he reiterated that while meeting with the media on Friday before flying out to Lexington:
“He’ll still be probable for tomorrow, but barring anything unforeseen, I would expect him to play tomorrow.”
While Florida is obviously a better team with Haugh than without, he wasn’t needed in Tuesday’s win when Florida put up 108 points en route to the blowout win. In Florida’s first win over Kentucky back in February, Haugh put up 17 points and eight rebounds.
Ascending star
Tuesday’s win aside, Haugh’s ascent this season has been a massive reason why the Gators are in contention to go back-to-back in March Madness. He flirted with the NBA Draft before returning to Gainesville, and the decision has paid off. Haugh has gone from a rotational role player to a potential lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
After starting just seven games over his first two seasons with Florida, Haugh had started every game this season prior to missing Tuesday’s game. He’s averaging 17.1 points per game and is bringing down 6.2 rebounds per game.
The Gators are considered a 6.5-point favorite for today’s game.
Tipoff is at 4 PM.