Santiago Vescovi back for No. 9 Tennessee at LSU, Uros Plavsic out

Santiago Vescovi will return No. 9 Tennessee on Saturday afternoon at LSU. The senior guard did not play and was not dressed out on Tuesday for the Vols’ 70-59 win at Mississippi State due to a shoulder injury.

Uros Plavsic became ill Saturday morning and will not play, according to The Vol Network.

Vescovi was a participant in Tennessee’s practice Thursday at Pratt Pavilion. Senior guard Tyreke Key, who missed the game due to illness, also returned to practice on Thursday.

Tennessee (15-3, 5-1 SEC) plays at LSU (12-6, 1-5) on Saturday in a 4 p.m. Eastern Time start (TV: ESPN) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge.

Vescovi landed on his left, shooting shoulder after diving for a loose ball against Kentucky early in the first half on Saturday. He missed two games in December, against Alcorn State and Eastern Kentucky, after injuring the shoulder late in a win over McNeese State.

“He got fouled in the game against Kentucky,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Tuesday night after the 70-59 win at Mississippi State. “They yanked his shoulder. That one loose ball there where he came off the screen. You could see on tape where the guy grabbed him. And that arm that was sore, it reaggravated it. He tried to get ready, he just couldn’t pick it up the way he needed to.”

Santiago Vescovi leads Vols in points and minutes, averaging 12.9 points in 31.7 minutes per game

Key went through shoot around with his teammates early Tuesday in Starkville, but wasn’t feeling well. He had a temperature later at the team hotel and did not dress or sit on the bench during the game. 

“A couple of the coaches have been under the weather a little bit,” Barnes said Tuesday night.

Zakai Zeigler played the full 40 minutes against Mississippi State, as the only usable option at point guard, and scored a career-high 24 points. He scored 16 of the 24 points in the second half, going 4-for-4 from the 3-point line, and finished with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. 

Julian Phillips had 18 points and 11 rebounds, including 13 points and seven boards in the second half. 

“We showed some great character, we really did,” Barnes said. “We knew coming in here was going to be a hard game if we had everybody. We knew that, we expected it. And to come away with a win because, again, this (Mississippi State) team, they’re closer. 

“And Coach (Chris) Jans does an unbelievable job. I mean, if they could’ve made a three here, a couple free throws there, I can tell you, people don’t look forward to playing (Mississippi State) because they do play hard.”

Up Next: No. 9 Tennessee at LSU, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

Vescovi is Tennessee’s leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game, and leads the Vols in minutes, at 31.7. He’s shooting 34.8 percent from the 3-point line and 39.8 percent from the field, leading the team in field goal attempts (161) and 3-point attempts (115). 

Barnes last month, at the time of the injury, described it on The Vol Network, as a “level two” sprain.

“Santi is the kind of guy that if you asked him to play, he would say, yeah, I’ll play,” Barnes said on Vol Calls on December 6. “He’s just a tough guy. He would play though anything.

“He’s got a Level 2 sprain there in the shoulder,” Barnes said of the injury Vescovi suffered late in the 74-40 win over McNeese State last week, “came down against his left arm.”