Todd Golden Reveals Micah Handlogten's Status for Gators Game Against Merrimack

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- After exiting Sunday's win over Miami with a head injury, Florida Gators center Micah Handlogten is now set to miss Friday's home game against Merrimack, head coach Todd Golden revealed on Thursday.

“He's doing great. He got banged up pretty good, took an elbow to the chin on Sunday night, so he will not play tomorrow night," Golden said. "He’s still in his rehab and just kind of getting back healthy. We’ll hopeful he'll be back next week when we get out west to play those games in San Diego.”

Handlogten left Florida's 82-68 win over the Hurricanes in the Jacksonville Hoops Showdown with 2:39 left in the first half as he was called for a shooting foul. He did not return to the floor or the bench after the injury.

He finished the game with no points, three rebounds and three personal fouls in nine minutes of play off the bench. Handlogten is in the midst of a strong start to his third season with the program, averaging 7.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Florida Gators center Micah Handlogten opened the season with back-to-back double-doubles. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

He opened the season with back-to-back double-doubles with an 11-point, 12-rebound game against Arizona and a 17-point, 13-rebound game against North Florida, marking the first time he has done that since his freshman season at Marshall (2022-23) and marking the first time a Gator opened the season with back-to-back double-doubles since 2019.

“Micah is a great player. He didn’t get as much as opportunity as last year late in the season. As I’ve said a million times, we don’t win a championship without him," head coach Todd Golden said. "He’s had an incredible offseason. He got himself in the best shape he has been in for his whole entire life. He is playing incredibly well right now."

Handlogten's absence from Friday's game comes as a slight surprise after Golden previously said he expected the senior to play.

With Handlogten out, Florida will likely rely on wing Thomas Haugh to play more at his original forward position in certain lineups with reserve Viktor Mikic providing immediate depth behind Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon.

Redshirt freshman Olivier Rioux, the tallest player in Division One history, rounds out Florida's front court depth and could see the floor at the end of the game should the game get out of reach.

"I think everybody needs to be ready for tomorrow night," Golden said. "Merrimack brings a unique challenge playing 40 minutes to zone, and obviously we have not shot the ball well from the perimeter yet, so will be a good challenge for us that way. But everybody that is dressed has to be ready."

Tipoff against Merrimack is at 7 p.m. with streaming coverage on SEC Network+.

More From Florida Gators on SI