Florida guard Tyree Appleby left the Gators’ first-round NCAA tournament victory against Virginia Tech on Friday after taking an elbow to the forehead in the second half.
Appleby received stitches and did not return to the Gators’ 75-70 overtime win at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. He did come back to the team’s bench with 3:13 remaining in overtime.
The junior guard was defending Virginia Tech forward Keve Aluma with 12:58 left in the second half when Aluma attempted to push a pass across the court and struck Appleby. It resulted in an immediate cut on his forehead and blood on the floor.
Florida training staff escorted Appleby off the court and into the locker room.
Before his injury, Appleby had eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor in 22 minutes of play. Coming into the NCAA tournament, Appleby was the Gators’ third-leading scorer with 11.4 points per game.