Nate Ament injury: Tennessee star will miss game vs. South Carolina (leg)
Tennessee has ruled out star freshman Nate Ament for Tuesday night’s game against South Carolina, the team announced Monday night. Ament injured his leg Saturday against Alabama and the Volunteers are still evaluating the severity of the injury.
There is currently no timetable for Ament’s return as he is subject to further evaluation. The five-star freshman did not practice Monday, but he practiced on the sidelines, according to 247Sports. Assistant coach Justin Gainey told reporters that Tennessee is still awaiting the results of the MRI Ament underwent Sunday.
“(Sunday) we didn’t get a lot of information because they hadn’t received the MRIs yet,” Gainey said. “So we didn’t have a lot of information, just general information. And so today, hopefully we’ll be kind of updated on that and where things stand.”
Ament left Tennessee’s 71-69 loss to Alabama in the first half after tangling with a few Crimson Tide players while diving for a loose ball. Ament did not return in the first half, but he returned to the game in the second half before leaving. Ultimately, Ament was limited to just 11 minutes.
After an uneven start to the season on Rocky Top, Ament really found his groove in February. He is second on the Vols in points per game (17.4) and leads the team in rebounds per game (6.4). If Ament misses significant time, it will test Tennessee’s scoring depth while putting even more weight on leading scorer Ja’Kobi Gillespie.
No. 24 Tennessee wraps up its regular season this week with Tuesday’s road game against the Gamecocks before hosting rival Vanderbilt on Saturday. After that, the Volunteers will travel to Nashville for the SEC Tournament, and Ament’s absence would loom large at the NCAA Tournament gates for No. 5 seed Tennessee in CBS Sports Bracketology.
