DETROIT, Mich. — Tennessee shooting guard Santiago Vescovi is out for the Vols’ Sweet 16 matchup against Creighton on Friday night as he battles the flu, a UT spokesperson confirmed to RTI.
Vescovi, who has started all 34 games this season for Tennessee and has missed just four games over the course of his five year career, didn’t practice on either Wednesday or Friday due to the illness but traveled with the team to Detroit. Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes expressed optimism that Vescovi would play against the Blue Jays during his Thursday press conference.
Tennessee had used the same starting lineup of Zakai Zeigler, Vescovi, Dalton Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo for 28 straight games before the Sweet 16 matchup.
Junior guard Jahmai Mashack will replace Vescovi in the starting lineup with transfer guard Jordan Gainey also due to see an increased number of minutes.
More From RTI: How Rick Barnes Played A Part in Greg McDermott Taking The Creighton Job
Mashack started six games for Tennessee early this season and started 13 games last season including the home stretch of the season after Zeigler suffered a season ending knee injury.
Gainey is averaging 6.9 points on 28% three-point shooting to go along with 1.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. However, the USC-Upstate transfer Gainey hasn’t started a regular season game this year.
A two-time All-SEC selection in his career, Vescovi is averaging 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season. It’s been the worst shooting season of the redshirt senior’s career but he still ranks second on the Vols in assists and third in steals this season.
Tennessee had a depth advantage over Creighton with its full roster but Vescovi’s absence largely mitigates that advantage.
Tipoff between the Vols and Blue Jays is at approximately 10:09 p.m. ET on Friday night. TBS is broadcasting the game.
