Tennessee center Felix Okpara did not participate in the Vols’ Monday practice ahead of their SEC matchup against Ole Miss on Tuesday night in Knoxville. Okpara did some individual shooting work and rode a stationary bike but did no team work during the practice.
Okpara is dealing with a left calf injury that he suffered during Tennessee’s win at Georgia last week. The 6-foot-11 center finished the Georgia game but was a game-time decision and ended up being unable to in Tennessee’s 77-69 win over Auburn on Saturday.
“Calf. He has some calf problems,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said following the game. “Yesterday, it was after the Georgia game, he really got kicked there or whatever. But it was a calf.”
The SEC Availability Report comes out at 8:10 p.m. ET on Monday night. We’ll see how Tennessee lists Okpara on the official report.
Tennessee’s front line put together a strong performance against Auburn despite Okpara missing the game due to injury. The trio of JP Estrella, Jaylen Carey and DeWayne Brown combined for 31 points and 17 rebounds in the victory.
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Okpara has not been injury prone during his time at Tennessee. He started his first 58 games as part of the Tennessee program before missing the Auburn game. On the season, Okpara is averaging 6.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game.
The senior center played one of his better games of the year last week at Georgia, totaling six points and 11 rebounds.
The Vols have won three straight games and boasts a 15-6 (5-3 SEC) record entering Tuesday’s matchup against Ole Miss. Tennessee is back in the AP Top 25 following the strong stretch and faces a manageable schedule over the next two weeks.
On the contrary, Ole Miss is struggling ahead of its trip to Knoxville. The Rebels are 11-10 (3-5 SEC) on the season and have lost three straight games.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Ole Miss is at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday night. ESPN2 is broadcasting the matchup.
