Florida, Alabama to be shorthanded on Tuesday

With both teams looking to rebound from tough losses, the No. 7/8 Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide are set to square off Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, AL though it appears as if neither team will go into the game at full strength.

Florida announced Sunday evening that sophomore forward Will Yeguete (concussion) and redshirt junior guard Mike Rosario (hip pointer) will both miss Tuesday’s tilt.

Yeguete, who banged his head into the stanchion underneath the basket while going up for a block against Tennessee on Saturday, received 8-10 stitches for a cut above his eye and failed concussion tests in the locker room. He was unconscious on the court and later diagnosed with his second concussion this season (at Ohio State).

Unlike Yeguete, Rosario did not even participate in Saturday’s contest after suffering a hip pointer during practice last week. The Gators were also without redshirt freshman F Cody Larson (illness) against Tennessee, but he will be healthy enough to travel with the team and come off the bench against the Crimson Tide.

Though Yeguete and Rosario are both bench players for Florida, the former has earned spot starts and extensive playing time in the front court while the latter has been a scoring spark for the Gators all season long. Yeguete is averaging 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in 22.0 minutes, while Rosario scores 7.9 points and shooting 38.0 percent from downtown in 16.0 minutes per game on average.

[EXPAND Click to expand and read the remainder of this story.]Alabama is even worse off than their upcoming opponent with up to four players set to miss the game due to suspension. Crimson Tide head coach Anthony Grant suspended starting F Tony Mitchell indefinitely on Monday for “conduct detrimental to the team” that occurred over a period of time.

He followed that up by ruling Saturday that three more Alabama players – F JaMychal Green, G Trevor Releford and G Andrew Steele – would also be suspended indefinitely for violations of team rules.

“We are extremely disappointed in the choices and decisions made by these young men that has led to this suspension,” Grant said in a statement released by the school. “Talent is a gift, but character is a choice. The consequences of their choices have negatively impacted them as individuals and the people that love and support them. Our hope is that they will be mature enough to accept responsibility for their actions and place a higher value on their character.”

Greene, the Crimson Tide’s scoring and rebounding leader with 14.1 points and 7.2 boards per game, is the most impactful of the four suspensions though all will undoubtedly affect the team’s ability to perform at a high level going forward.

Florida and Alabama tip off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday live on ESPN.[/EXPAND]