Nate Ament ruled out for Tuesday night against South Carolina

The Tennessee Volunteers wrap up the road portion of their regular season slate on Tuesday night against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

While South Carolina is near the bottom of the SEC, the task will be tougher than they’d hope for the Volunteers. Per the school this evening, Tennessee will indeed be without their star Nate Ament for the game.

It goes without saying that this is a brutal body blow to the program right now. Ament really turned the corner and went on a heater in February, which was a big reason why the team ripped off four straight wins and eight of nine before Ament suffered a dinged up ankle against Missouri last Tuesday. That was exacerbated against Alabama, and just 72 hours later, Ament is not able to gut it out.

But at this point, the focus for his return should be squarely on the NCAA Tournament. While seeding is important, that’s what matters far and away the most at this point. With the tourney getting underway in about two and a half weeks, getting healthy by then should be the entire focus of Ament and the Tennessee training staff.

We’ll find out Tuesday night in Columbia just how tough the sledding will be without him.