Last night, it certainly didn't seem like the Tennessee Volunteers were missing the presence of Nate Ament on the court too badly, as the Vols stormed to a 78-59 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks.
However, with the SEC Tournament and the Big Dance just around the corner, it's impossible to imagine that Tennessee isn't wishing their star freshman was at full health.
Yet, after the beatdown that the Volunteers put on the Gamecocks, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes found a positive way to spin the Ament injury situation.
"He’s had a long year," Barnes said in the postgame pressconference. "I like to think that it could be a blessing in disguise."
Nate Ament must use recovery as rest time as well
Barnes was by no means saying that it's a good thing for Ament to be sidelined with an injury; he was simply saying that after not having much rest over the last four or so months, a little time off the court may actually be beneficial for Ament.
Before suffering the high ankle sprain in Tennessee's loss against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ament had averaged just under 36 minutes per game (with regulation games only lasting 40 minutes, that's pretty dang impressive).
After averaging 35.9 minutes per game over 12 games, some rest isn't the worst thing in the world for Nate Ament before the postseason.
— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) March 4, 2026
Rick Barnes: “He’s had a long year ... I like to think that it could be a blessing in disguise."https://t.co/NTWNzGhKHh pic.twitter.com/5p1yP9viR8
Yes, of course, it hurts to have Ament sidelined, and it's never good when a player gets injured, no matter their age or how many minutes they contribute. However, Barnes has a great point. Amen must be exhausted from how much he has been playing for the Vols this season.
Ament leads the Vols in scoring and rebounding with 18.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. In other words, the freshman star has been everywhere on both ends of the court.
With or without Ament in the starting lineup, the Volunteers will face the No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday, March 7, at 2 p.m. ET for the two teams' final regular-season game of the year.
Then, the SEC Tournament will tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11, followed by the NCAA Tournament, which starts on March 17.