No. 11 Tennessee missing two players against South Carolina

No. 11 Tennessee will be shorthanded for a fifth straight game Saturday night, the Vols host South Carolina at Thompson-Boling Arena. Freshman Julian Phillips will miss his fourth straight game with a hip flexor injury and Tyreke Key is out with an ankle injury.

Head coach Rick Barnes said before practice on Friday that he thought both Phillips and Josiah-Jordan James (ankle) would try to play against the Gamecocks, but ultimately would be a game-time decision. Tennessee faces South Carolina at 6 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday on SEC Network.

Phillips went through pregame warmups for a second straight game before being ruled out. Key hasn’t missed time since the win at Mississippi State last month, when he was sidelined by illness.

“How much, we don’t know,” Barnes said of the potential availability of James and Phillips against South Carolina. “I think that will be a game-time decision. They both were in practice with us (on Thursday). They’ll be back out there (in Friday’s practice).

Key, who averages 8.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game, scored a season-high 23 points in the 86-85 loss to Missouri on February 11. He scored 21 in the second half of that game, helping the Vols rally from down 17 points before losing a second straight game on a buzzer-beater.

In three games since then, he has nine points on 2-for-21 shooting, going 1-for-13 from the 3-point line. It’s unclear when Key suffered the right ankle injury.

Both James (ankle) Phillips (hip) were listed as day-to-day and game-time decisions before Tennessee’s 68-63 loss at Texas A&M Tuesday night but ultimately did not play. James has missed the last four games and Phillips has missed three straight.

James sprained his left ankle in the final minute of the 66-65 loss at Vanderbilt on February 8.

“(James) actually put a good load in yesterday,” Barnes said of Thursday’s practice. “Probably more than we thought he would or expect him to. He wanted to do it. You know he is going to be a little bit sore. He is certainly not 100 percent.

Phillips suffered a hip flexor injury in practice on February 10 and tried to play against Missouri the following day, but did not return to the game after halftime.

“Julian, yesterday, didn’t do quite as much but was out there,” Barnes said. “I know our team admires them for them trying to push through. They’ve got injuries. They want to help their team win. There is no doubt about that. We will see how it all goes today.”

Josiah-Jordan James: ‘Barring any setbacks, I’ll be out there Saturday’

James updated his own status on Wednesday during a speaking engagement at the Big Orange Tip-Off Club, saying he planned to return to practice on Thursday and was eyeing to get back on the game floor on Saturday.

“I’m doing great,” James told the crowd. “These last couple weeks I’ve been doing extensive work with Chad (Newman), our athletic trainer, and then ‘G’ (Garrett Medenwald), our strength and conditioning coach. Hopefully, barring any setbacks, I’ll be out there Saturday. Looking forward to it.”

James missed eight games earlier this season while dealing with knee soreness. Phillips, who suffered a hip flexor injury in practice on February 10, has missed the last three games.

Santiago Vescovi didn’t practice Monday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville due to illness. Still, he started and played a team-high 36 minutes while finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

“I was pretty sick yesterday,” Vescovi said Tuesday night. “It was not so cold in the gym, I had a winter jacket and I was still cold. But I said it earlier on radio, I don’t really like to talk about myself.

“I’m just really proud of how the guys fought today, all the effort they put into the game.”

Zakai Zeigler scored 14 points and had four assists in 34 minutes. Olivier Nkamhoua scored 13 points and had four rebounds and Tobe Awaka had 10 points and seven boards. 

Up Next: No. 11 Tennessee vs. South Carolina, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

James is averaging 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 30.1 percent from the 3-point line. He has started eight times in 16 games, averaging 23.9 minutes per game. He missed eight games earlier this season due to knee soreness.

Phillips averages 4.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game this season, starting all 25 games so far. 

“They’re doing what we ask them to do,” Barnes said Tuesday night, “but we don’t want them to play unless they’re healthy.”