NASHVILLE, Tn. — Nate Ament is again available for Tennessee basketball as the Vols prepare to face rival Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals, a source told RTI.
Ament returned to the court Thursday against Auburn after missing the previous 2.5 games due to a right leg injury. The star freshman feels good the day after making his return though Tennessee could restrict his minutes for purely precautionary reasons ahead of next week’s NCAA Tournament
“Huge credit to Chad, our athletic trainer, G, our strength coach and all the doctors that we have in the program,” Ament told They’ve been doing a terrific job of getting me back to 100%. It’s still a little bit sore and stuff like that but it’s alright. I can play through it.”
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Ament was terrific in his return to the court, scoring 27 points and adding eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the come from behind win over Auburn. A projected lottery pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, Ament led the Vols in all four statistical categories.
Tennessee was willing to more slowly work him back into the groove of things but Ament’s right leg felt good throughout the game against Auburn and he ended up playing 27 minutes.
“As soon as I found out I was starting, I knew that Coach Barnes was always going to check in on me and ask how I was doing, if I wanted to sub,” Ament said. “I knew I was going to say no a lot of the times. I knew he was just going to let me play if I was feeling good.”
A Second Team All-SEC selection, Ament is averaging 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this season. He leads the Vols in rebounding, ranks second in points and ranks third in assists. Ament was even more productive in SEC play, averaging 19 points and six rebounds per game.
Tennessee is currently 1.5-point favorites against Vanderbilt according to the DKSportsbook. The over/under is set at 147.5. KenPom predicts Vanderbilt earns a 76-75 victory.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Vanderbilt is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon in Nashville. Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Alyssa Lang are on the call for ESPN.
