Florida beat down Ole Miss on Wednesday night, but a 15-point win brought about a significant blow to the Gators moving forward.

Star center Colin Castleton was forced to exit the 79-64 Florida win after 22 minutes with a hand injury. After the game, Florida announced Castleton will be sidelined for the foreseeable future with a broken hand.

The redshirt senior forward has arguably been the most important player to his team of anyone in the SEC this season. Castleton leads the Gators with 16.5 points per game on the year, also contributing a team-best 7.9 points and 3.0 blocks per game to go with 2.7 assists a night.

He leads the SEC in blocks and ranks third in scoring, as the 6-foot-11 big man was surely headed for an All-SEC First Team selection after the year. Castleton had averaged 24.8 points and 9.5 rebounds over his last 4 games as Florida was fighting to stay in the bubble picture.

Simply put, he’s the cog that makes the operation go. Florida will seriously miss his presence.

Jason Jitoboh saw 17 minutes Wednesday night in relief of Castleton. He finished with 4 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal.

The Gators (14-12, 7-6 SEC) face Arkansas on the road on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN2).