Tennessee freshman ruled out vs. Mississippi State as Rick Barnes searches for depth

Rick Barnes has always built his teams with the defensive end of the floor first and foremost in his mind. He’s never needed a bevy of unbelievable shot-makers to win, but this year’s iteration could use a few more. 

Nate Ament has finally come into his own. The five-star freshman is averaging over 25 points a game across his last five outings and had 29 against Kentucky on Saturday, but Tennessee still came up short, 74-71, in Rupp Arena. Even with regular starter Felix Okpara coming off the bench in his return from injury, the Vols still got just four bench points in the game, two from Okpara and one each from Jaylen Carey and Amari Evans. 

Barnes may need to dig deep into his roster to find another scorer, but one of those potential options will be unavailable on Wednesday night when the Vols travel to Mississippi State to face the 11-12 (3-7) Bulldogs in SEC play. 

Freshman Clarence Massamba has been officially ruled out for the game on the initial SEC Availability Report that was released on Tuesday. Massamba has played in nine games this season and has only scored four total points. 

Clarence Massamba ruled out vs. Mississippi State with hip injury

Massamba did not play against Kentucky and was never likely to be Barnes’s answer for his team’s lack of bench scoring, but the 6-foot-5 freshman guard from France was a potential option before he injured his hip. 

As Sam Granville of 6News pointed out, the injury likely occurred sometime after the Kentucky game because Massamba was 360 dunking in warmups at Rupp Arena. 

Along with Massamba, junior forward Cade Phillips has been ruled out for the game. Phillips last played on December 6 against Illinois when he had two points in 18 minutes, and the Vols fell to the Illini 75-62. Following that game, Phillips underwent season-ending shoulder surgery to address a long-standing injury. 

The good news on the injury front is that Okpara was not listed on the availability report. The 6-foot-11 senior missed two games with a calf injury he suffered against Georgia in the final week of January. Okpara is averaging 6.6 points a game this season. While he was sidelined, freshman DeWayne Brown II stepped into the starting lineup and has averaged 5.7 points a game across his three starts.