Rick Barnes reveals Santiago Vescovi battling illness, expected to play in Sweet 16 vs. Creighton

No. 2 seed Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi is dealing with an illness ahead of the Volunteers’ Sweet 16 matchup against No. 3 seed Creighton on Friday. However, Vescovi is expected to play, according to head coach Rick Barnes.

Vescovi is a key cog for the Volunteers, starting in all 34 games for Tennessee in 2023-24. The fifth year guard has seen his scoring average almost cut in half, but still plays nearly 26 minutes a night and averages 6.5 points per game, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

“Yeah, he’s just under the weather a little bit, but we expect him to be ready,” Barnes said on Thursday.

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The Volunteers and Bluejays are scheduled to tip off right around 10 p.m. EST on Friday evening at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit.

Tennessee is a slight favorite to win over Creighton

Coming into the game, Tennessee is a 2.5-point favorite over Creighton, per FanDuel. The Volunteers are also currently listed at -138 for the moneyline, right now, while the Bluejays are sitting at +115.

The point total for the game is currently set at 143.5 points. If both teams reached their season averages for scoring, there would be a total of 159.7 points scored in the contest.

Final score predictions for Creighton vs. Tennessee

BPI Predicted winner: Tennessee
BPI Predicted point differential: 2.0
BPI Win probability (for Tennessee): 57.6%
BPI Matchup Quality: 97.4

ESPN’s BPI is a model designed to provide a statistical comparison between two teams and predict future success. It agrees with Vegas about what to expect from this game. Leading into the game, BPI is projecting a point differential of 2.0 points in Tennessee’s favor. It also gives the Volunteers a 57.6% chance to win the game over the Bluejays.

BPI also gives this game a matchup quality score of 97.4, which is extremely high, the highest of the day.

KenPom Predicted final score: Tennessee 73, Creighton 71
KenPom Win probability (for Tennessee): 56%

KenPom is another predictive system for college basketball. It’s designed to show how strong a team is at a given time, without taking factors like injuries into account. For this game between Tennessee and Creighton, KenPom agrees with BPI and Vegas, projecting the Volunteers to win by two points.

How to watch Creighton vs. Tennessee

Time: approx. 10:09 p.m. ET, March 29
Channel: TBS, Prime Video (streaming)
Location: Detroit, Mich.

Creighton and Tennessee are set to tip off at approximately 10:09 p.m. time on Friday, March 29. It will also be played at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich., rather than an on-campus venue, as part of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

For fans outside of Detroit, the game can be watched on TBS. It’s also going to be available to fans on streaming through Prime Video, which does have an option for a free trial.