The Gators will be without their leading scorer Casey Prather on Saturday when they travel to Arkansas.
The senior forward has a bruised right knee that will cause him to miss his first game of the year. Prather said he was fine during the South Carolina game Wednesday night, but he woke up Thursday with swelling in his knee.
“We actually thought maybe there had been some cartilage tear with the way his knee was swelling, so he had an MRI (on Thursday),” coach Billy Donovan said. “Cartilage tear, his knee structure, all that stuff is fine. But he's out (Saturday).”
Prather leads No. 10 Florida (12-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) with 17 points per game.
With the Gators missing their most dynamic scorer for their matchup against the Razorbacks (11-3, 0-1 SEC), Donovan and company could use some good news about Scottie Wilbekin.
The senior point guard left the South Carolina game Wednesday with a sprained right ankle, which is the same one he sprained Dec. 2 against UConn.
Donovan said Wilbekin, who is second on the team in points per game, is questionable for Saturday’s contest, and if Wilbekin does play, he will not start.
“I would say he'll probably give it some kind of try, but what we can get out of him, I really don't know at this point in time,” Donovan said.
Patric Young missed practice Friday with sore knees, but he is still cleared to play Saturday. Donovan said he is not sure what to expect from the senior center, so he will utilize Dorian Finney-Smith and DeVon Walker while the normal starters will get more rest.
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Scottie Wilbekin (center) poses for a photo with Casey Prather (left) and Patric Young (right) during Florida’s basketball media day on Oct. 9. Prather will miss Saturday's game, Wilbekin is questionable and Young will see limited minutes.
