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.
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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.
