Alijah Martin injuy update: Florida makes final decision on star guard vs. Mississippi State

Just one day after he was listed as questionable on the SEC’s mandatory availability report, Florida guard Alijah Martin has been ruled out of a contest against Mississippi State.

He will miss his second straight game after sustaining a hip pointer injury during conference play.

Alijah Martin is Florida’s second-leading scorer this season, averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting 45.2% from the field and 34.0% from beyond the arc. He is also putting up 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

The graduate transfer from Florida Atlantic also sat out this past Saturday’s game against Auburn. That didn’t stop the Gators from pulling off a 90-81 win over the No. 1 Tigers.

Florida improved to 20-3 (7-3 SEC) on the season with the win and has now won five of its past six games. Playing without Alijah Martin now on Tuesday night, Florida will have to remain sharp as it takes on a similarly ranked team.

Tip off for the game is set for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday in Starkville and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

Florida fights off Auburn comeback

For the second time this year, Florida knocked off the No. 1 team in the country. This time, though, it happened on the road – and against Todd Golden’s former boss.

The Gators went into The Jungle and dominated Auburn 90-81 to pull off the road upset, even without Alijah Martin. Although the Tigers got within single digits in the second half, Florida was able to respond and continue its quest for an upset in the hostile environment.

UF led by as many as 21 points in the second half before Auburn mounted its comeback. The Tigers got the deficit to nine points with 7:58 to go and again got to single digits in the final minute. But the Gators never looked back, securing the program’s first ever road win over an AP No. 1 team.

Walter Clayton Jr. led the charge for Florida with 19 points to go with nine assists. He was one of five players to reach double figures for Golden’s group, with Alex Condon coming in right behind him with 17 points and 10 rebounds as part of his fifth double-double of the season. Thomas Haugh also had 16 points and nine rebounds.

As a group, even without Alijah Martin, Florida was especially hot from three-point territory. The Gators went 13-for-32 from downtown in the effort, led by a 4-for-8 showing from Clayton.

On3’s Nick Schultz and Chandler Vessels also contributed to this report.