Vols Look to End Two-Game Skid in Road Trip to South Carolina
Image: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
By Aidan Sidoti
Tennessee hoops heads to the other Columbia tonight sitting at 20-9 and 10-6 in SEC play, looking to finish the regular season strong after a frustrating 0-2 week. The Vols face a South Carolina squad that has struggled mightily to a 12-17 record and just 3 league wins, but the bigger storyline for Tennessee fans is who will not be available. Freshman forward Nate Ament is out after aggravating the right ankle he injured at Alabama, going down in a multi-player scrum during the first half of Saturday’s loss to Alabama.
The Vols have dropped two straight for the first time since the early season slide against Kansas, Syracuse and Illinois. Both losses this past week came after double‑digit leads slipped away. Tennessee led by 10 at Missouri and 12 at home against Alabama. The loss to the Tide added even more insult to injury because Tennessee never trailed until a mid‑range jumper from Lebaron Philon put Alabama ahead with twenty‑four seconds left, the only lead Alabama needed.
With Ament sidelined, freshman guard Amari Evans will look to see his production increase. Evans averages just over 12 minutes per game with modest scoring and rebounding numbers, but stepped up big Saturday in the absence of Ament. He played 28 minutes, scored seven points on 50% from the field and matched his career-high with eight rebounds. Expect him to have another extended role tonight.
South Carolina has been, to put it gently, putrid. Head coach Lamont Paris is on a very hot seat as the Gamecocks have lost 9 of their last 10 games. Their only win in that stretch came against a lowly Mississippi State team. Five of their last six losses have been by double figures and they were run out of their own building by 47 points against Florida. This is a matchup Tennessee should control if it plays clean basketball.
Tennessee does get a boost with redshirt sophomore JP Estrella fully back in the rotation. Estrella gave the Vols 12 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes against Alabama after coming back from a left foot injury. His presence matters even more tonight because South Carolina certainly lacks size. The Gamecocks' tallest starters are Elijah Strong at 6-foot-8 and EJ Walker at 6-foot-7. That is a matchup Tennessee can exploit early.
Feed JP and let him work.
Oddsmakers have Tennessee as 9.5-point favorites with the over/under set at 141.5.
Tipoff at Colonial Life Arena is set for 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
