Nate Ament injury update: Tennessee star leaves Alabama game for locker room

Tennessee star Nate Ament was in the middle of an awkward scrum in the first half of Saturday’s game against Alabama. He stuck his arm into a pile, looking to secure a loose ball. Ament then saw an arm and a leg get stuck, moving in what looked to be an uncomfortable direction. Everyone inside the arena instantly knew something looked off, including ESPN play-by-play voice Karl Ravech and color analyst Jimmy Dykes.

Ament stayed down on the ground for a few moments, clearly in pain. A Tennessee trainer rushed onto the floor to check on Ament before getting him back on his feet. If there is any kind of positive sign for Vol fans, it’s that Ament did walk off the court under his own power. However, it was straight back to the locker room.

Nate Ament gets rolled up on and has to leave the game 🥺

He walked off under his own power, but is not on the Tennessee bench pic.twitter.com/uz12IcBcbN

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 28, 2026

Just before the under-four media timeout, Ravech got a glimpse of the work Ament was doing in the Tennessee tunnel. Some kind of warmup was being done, possibly a positive sign for Tennessee after a scary-looking moment.

“I can see through the tunnel,” Ravech said. “Nate Ament is out there, doing some jumping and trying to see if that right leg of his will allow himself to come back and play. But again, Nate Ament, out with what looked like a very ugly injury. He’s still out there, still trying to work his way back into this game, which is encouraging. One of the top players in college basketball.”

Losing Ament would always be a big story for Tennessee. He is the program’s best player and could wind up being a lottery selection in the 2026 NBA Draft. But when you consider what he did earlier in the season in Tuscaloosa, the loss becomes even bigger.

Ament put together a career performance in the first matchup against Alabama. His 29 points tied his season-high, making 50% of his 20 shot attempts. Just two of those were from three, as Alabama could not guard him inside the line. Tennessee was hoping for a similar type of performance on Rocky Top to win a sixth consecutive in the rivalry.

Instead, there are going to be questions about Ament’s health. If there is no return in the next few minutes before halftime, coming out of the break will be something to monitor. Or else, head coach Rick Barnes will face a heavy dose of questions about the true freshman.