Tennessee Basketball's JP Estrella leaves Rice game with left leg injury

Tennessee Basketball redshirt sophomore JP Estrella is out for the remainder of Monday night’s game against Rice due to a left leg injury. Estrella went down in the lane late in the first half a defensive possession and was helped off the floor with team trainers under each arm.

Estrella, who missed all but three games last season after under-going season-ending foot surgery last November, starred for Tennessee over the first three games this season, averaging 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 19.7 minutes per game off the bench.

He had four points and a rebound before leaving with the game against Rice.

Estrella scored a career-high 23 points and had 10 rebounds in the 99-66 win over North Florida on Wednesday. It was his second straight double-double, after he had 17 points and 11 rebounds against Northern Kentucky last Saturday. He had 12 points and five rebounds in the season-opening win over Mercer on November 3.

He was limited during the summer before his sophomore season due to a lingering foot injury. The issue ended up requiring surgery in November that ended his season.

Estrella appeared in 25 games as a freshman in 2023-24, averaging 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per game. 

The South Portland, Maine, native, was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. He was ranked No. 59 overall in the Rivals Industry Ranking, was the No. 8 center in the class and the No. 3 player in the New Hampshire, where he attended Brewster Academy.

Bishop Boswell misses second straight game with injury

Bishop Bowell missed his second straight game with what Tennessee announced is a left leg injury that the sophomore guard sustained in practice. 

His status is day-to-day moving forward, according to the Vols, and he will continue to be evaluated. The sophomore guard missed last Wednesday’s 99-66 win over North Florida with a foot injury.

Boswell started the first two games of the season, totaling 11 points and 13 rebounds in 39 minutes. He played 17 minutes against Mercer and 22 against Northern Kentucky, going 3-for-5 from the 3-point line in the two games. 

Boswell started in the exhibition loss against Duke on October 26, but was scoreless in his 24 minutes on the floor. 

Up Next: Tennessee vs. Tennessee St., Thursday, 7 p.m. ET

Tennessee will be back home at Food City Center on Thursday, hosting Tennessee State in a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start streaming on SEC Network+. The Tennessee State game wraps up the five-game homestand to start the season, which included earlier wins over Mercer, Northern Kentucky and North Florida.

Tennessee goes to the Players Era Men’s Championship in Las Vegas, starting the 18-team tournament with a game against Rutgers on Monday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max.

The Vols face No. 2 Houston on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max and then will face a third to-be-determined opponent on either Wednesday or Thursday.