Tennessee center JP Estrella is out for the Vols’ matchup against Syracuse on Tuesday night in the ACC-SEC Challenge with a right ankle injury, a UT spokesperson confirmed to RTI. Estrella is day-to-day with the injury moving forward.
Estrella has battled a number of injuries throughout his Tennessee career and early this season. The redshirt sophomore center missed Tennessee’s win over Tennessee State with a left knee bone bruise. The talented big man was able to return from the knee injury after missing just one game.
However, Estrella suffered a right ankle injury in Tennessee’s 81-76 loss against Kansas in the Players Era Festival. Estrella returned to the game after suffering the injury but did not participate in team activities during the Vols’ Monday practice and is unable to go against the Orange.
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The 6-foot-11 big man has been a breakout star for Rick Barnes’ team early this season. Through seven games this season, Estrella is averaging 12 points and five rebounds per game helping give Tennessee an inside game that they’ve missed in recent seasons.
The good news for Tennessee is that they have strong depth inside. Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips are Tennessee’s starting front court while Jaylen Carey impressed off the bench in the Vols’ matchup against Houston and Kansas last week. Freshman forward DeWayne Brown will also see an increased workload against Syracuse.
Both teams enter the non conference matchup coming off losses. Tennessee finished its run at Players Era with its loss against Kansas while Syracuse went 0-3 with losses against Houston, Kansas and Iowa State.
Tennessee basketball is currently 7.5-point favorites against Syracuse according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 147.5. KenPom predicts Tennessee to earn a 78-71 victory over Syracuse. Tipoff from JMA Wireless Arena is at 7 p.m. ET. Wes Durham and Dennis Scott are on the call for ESPN2.
