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Tennessee basketball updates status of Santiago Vescovi before Elite 8 game vs. Purdue

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•03/31/24•

GrantRamey

Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee Basketball | Tennessee Athletics
Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee Basketball | Tennessee Athletics

DETROIT — Fifth-year guard Santiago Vescovi is warming up with intent to play for Tennessee basketball in Sunday afternoon’s Elite Eight game at against Purdue, according to a Tennessee spokesperson. Vescovi missed Tennessee’s 82-75 win over Creighton Friday night in Sweet 16 due to an illness.

Tennessee (27-8) and Purdue (32-4) are scheduled for a 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time start (TV: CBS) at Little Caesars Arena in the Midwest Regional final.

The Vols are in the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history and are looking for their first Final Four trip.

The Boilermakers are in the Elite Eight for the sixth time and looking for a third berth in the Final Four and their first since 1980.

Elite Eight: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Purdue, Sunday, 2:20 p.m. ET, CBS

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Saturday afternoon that he expected Vescovi to be ready for Sunday’s game against Purdue in the Elite Eight at Little Caesars Arena. 

“He looked better today,” Barnes said during his Saturday press conference, before the Vols held their practice at the Arena. “He’s with us. We won’t obviously do very much today. We’ll just see really more so tomorrow, I think once we get going. We expect him to be ready.”

Vescovi returned to practice Saturday afternoon after not practicing Wednesday in Knoxville or Thursday in Detroit, before missing his first game of the season and just his fourth in his 152-game career with the Vols. He said Saturday that he began feeling ill Tuesday night.

Friday night he was isolated in a training room at Little Caesars Arena watching the TV broadcast of the Sweet 16 game against Creighton.

“Throughout the whole day, it was just like a nightmare, to be honest,” Vescovi said Saturday afternoon. “For me, of course I wanted to play, but on top of that I just had to deal with not feeling well.” I had fever, body aches, I was freezing all the time.”

Santiago Vescovi this season: 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists in 25.6 minutes per game

Tennessee started junior guard Jahmai Mashack in Vescovi’s place, forced to change the starting lineup for the first time in 28 games. 

Vescovi, who started the first 34 games this season, averages 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assist in 25.6 minutes per game. He’s Tennessee’s all-time leader in starts (144) and became the program’s all-time leader in steals (212) when he recorded three steals in the second-round win over Texas. 

He went 1-for-4 from the field in the 62-58 win over the Longhorns, finishing with four rebounds and the three steals in 20 minutes.

Vescovi said Saturday that he was going to try to play against Purdue on Sunday but it would continue to depend on how he felt and if he could help his team by trying to play.

“I’m going try to play,” Vescovi said. “I want to play, I want to be with the guys. The flu has been kicking my tail, but yeah, we’ll see today out there. And then tomorrow, same thing. But yeah, the main thing, I do want to play. I want to be with the guys, so I’m going to do everything I can to play tomorrow.”

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