Tennessee forward John Fulkerson has been a key veteran for the Vols this season but has dealt with injury troubles. Fulkerson only wound up with six minutes on the court Tuesday against Missouri before having to take himself out.
“He had a little hip pointer,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said after the game in Columbia. “He played but he didn’t feel like he could go anymore tonight, so we were fine with that.”
By the time the game against the Tigers went into a groove, the Vols luckily didn’t need Fulkerson to find the win. However, as Barnes stated on Friday afternoon, the Vols are going to need all hands on deck when the third-ranked Auburn Tigers come to Knoxville on Saturday.
“We need all of our post guys,” Barnes said on Thursday about how Tennessee will combat Auburn’s size. “We need Uros (Plavsic), we’re going to need John Fulkerson, we’re going to need Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield), going to need Jonas (Aidoo). We’re going to need them all.”
However, as much as Tennessee seemingly needs the help from Fulkerson, that help isn’t guaranteed just quite yet. The final thing that Barnes said on Friday before the game on Saturday was an update on Fulkerson’s playing status this week.
“Yeah, we hope so,” Barnes said when asked if John Fulkerson would be available for Saturday’s game. “He hasn’t been able to practice very much but we hope we can get him right.”
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Barnes saying that Fulkerson has been limited this week at practice could go one of two ways without any more knowledge. On one hand, Tennessee could just be resting Fulkerson, knowing that he will be very likely to play on Saturday and doesn’t need the midweek stress on his body. However, on the other hand, Tennessee may just be waiting until the day of the game to get the clearance they need to put him in the lineup.
One way or another, Barnes was adamant that Tennessee will need every big man they have against a stout Auburn team. Currently, Auburn’s Walker Kessler is leading the nation in blocks per game at 4.7. In addition, Auburn as a whole is also leading the country in team blocked shots per game at 8.2. The Tigers have collected an NCAA-high 231 blocks this year, 52 blocks above the second-ranked team.
Tennessee forward John Fulkerson is averaging 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds during home games this year while the Vols carry an undefeated record in Knoxville this season.
The No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers will host No. 3 Auburn this Saturday in Knoxville at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
