Tennessee’s backcourt duo of Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi are both out for the Vols’ final preseason tuneup of the season against Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday night.
Neither player participated in No. 9 Tennessee’s exhibition win over No. 4 Michigan State in East Lansing on Sunday afternoon.
Vescovi traveled to Uruguay on Thursday to be with his family as his grandmother is sick. The Preseason First Team All-SEC selection averaged 12.5 points per game on 37% three-point shooting last season and is the SEC’s top perimeter shooter.
“Santi won’t (be available against MSU),” Barnes said last week. “His grandmother is not doing well. He’s gonna leave tomorrow to go back home. And she’s very, very ill right now and he’d like to be with his family. So he’s leaving tomorrow to go back to Uruguay.”
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Zeigler is working his way back from a knee injury which ended his sophomore season. The point guard tore his ACL on the final day of February in Tennessee’s win over Arkansas. Zeigler didn’t play against Michigan State but was with the team.
The junior point guard is getting close to 100% just under eight months after suffering the injury. The Preseason Second Team All-SEC selection was a full participant in Tennessee’s Wednesday practice open to the media last week and scored seven points in a 20-minute simulated scrimmage.
Tennessee opens up its 2023-24 regular season on Nov. 6 when they host Tennessee Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
