Tennessee star freshman Nate Ament is expected to return to the lineup for the No. 25 Volunteers against Auburn in Thursday’s SEC quarterfinals, a source told ESPN.
Ament has missed the past two games with a leg injury that he suffered against Alabama on Feb. 28.
He is listed as questionable on the SEC availability report. According to a source, there is no certainty about how much he will play against Auburn, but there is an expectation that he will play.
Ament is a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and is Tennessee’s second-leading scorer behind Ja’Kobi Gillespie. Ament, a 6-foot-10 forward who has impressed with his versatility and shooting stroke, is averaging 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
His return looms large for Auburn, which is on the NCAA tournament bubble. While a flurry of results in other conference tournaments Wednesday helped Auburn’s case for a bid, a win would be significant for the Tigers’ NCAA chances.
Ament scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds against Auburn earlier this year in a 77-69 Volunteers win. He shot 4-of-16 from the field in that game.
He left the Alabama game after an awkward fall and missed subsequent games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
