Vols’ Vescovi to miss game vs. Michigan State
Santiago Vescovi won't be with Tennessee basketball for its exhibition at Michigan State on Sunday, Vols coach Rick Barnes said Wednesday.
The Vols senior guard is returning to Uruguay on Thursday to be with his family as his grandmother is ill, Barnes said.
No. 9 UT and No. 4 MSU are playing a charity exhibition Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network) with proceeds from the game being donated to the Hawai'i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund to provide financial resources to the relief efforts from the devastating Maui wildfires.
The Maui Invitational, which typically takes place in Lahaina, is being held in Honolulu. UT is slated to take part in the event in November for the fourth time in program history.
Zeigler’s status undetermined for Tennessee vs. Michigan State
Barnes indicated that junior guard Zakai Zeigler is doing more in Tennessee practices and could be available Sunday in East Lansing, Michigan. A final decision will be made Saturday regarding Zeigler, who is returning from a torn ACL in late February.
“When you're talking about Santi and Zakai, you're talking about two guys that are elite defenders, two guys that know what we want, two guys that bring speed to the court when they're there,” Barnes said.
“They change the court. But we know last year, when Zakai got hurt, the one thing we wanted to do is get our depth right.”
Zeigler, a preseason All-SEC second-team choice, said he is “feeling well” as he continues to work toward 100% health.
The junior averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 assists in 28.7 minutes per game as a sophomore to earn to earn All-SEC second-team honors.
Santiago Vescovi was voted preseason All-SEC
Vescovi was a preseason All-SEC selection after returning to Tennessee for a fifth season. He is a two-time AllSEC selection. He is averaging 11.6 points and shooting 38.1% on 3-pointers in 114 career games.
The Montevideo, Uruguay, native averaged 12.5 points and a career-high 4.6 rebounds as a senior last season. Vescovi made at least three 3-pointers in 11 of UT's final 13 games. He shot 37% on 3-pointers last season. He has shot better than 36% on 3-pointers in each season.