Florida's Micah Handlogten Has Fractured Leg Injury; Left SEC Title Game on Stretcher

Early in Sunday's SEC championship game against Auburn, Florida suffered a devastating injury loss.

Sophomore Mitch Handlogten, the Gators' starting center, was stretchered off the court with an air cast on his left leg after he went down while trying to grab a rebound early in the first half. ESPN later reported that he suffered a fractured lower left leg. Florida went on to lose 86-67.

ESPN reported that Handlogten was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to undergo testing. The entire Gators roster an over to him to show their support as he was stretchered off the court:

After spending his freshman season at Marshall, Handlogten transferred to Florida and was given a prominent role. The 7'1" big man started 31 of his 32 appearances this year and averaged 5.5 points, ranked fifth in the SEC with 7.1 rebounds and added 0.9 blocks while shooting 62.2 percent from the field. His best performance came in an overtime victory over Georgia on Jan. 27 in which he scored a career-high 23 points on 10-of-13 and pulled down 17 rebounds.

Handlogten is the Gators' only seven-footer, but they have a deep crop of power forwards who can take his place in the frontcourt. Freshman forwards Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh appear to be splitting minutes at the center position in Handlogten's absence.

Florida is playing its fourth game in four days after its strong run to the tournament championship. The Gators defeated Georgia, No. 19 Alabama and Texas A&M on their way to the title game.