Nate Ament has been ruled out for No. 23 Tennessee basketball against No. 24 Vanderbilt on Saturday at Food City Center. The freshman wing will miss a second straight game with a right leg injury after initially being listed as doubtful on Friday Night.

The Vols and Commodores are scheduled for a 2 p.m. Eastern Time start (TV: ESPN) between Tennessee (21-9, 11-6 SEC) hosts Vanderbilt (23-7, 10-7).

Bishop Boswell (illness) and Troy Henderson (shoulder) are both available to play after being listed as probable on the SEC Availability Report Friday night.

Boswell has started 26 times in 27 games this season, averaging 26.2 minutes per game. He hasn’t missed any time since missing three games with a leg injury in November. He’s averaging 6.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. 

Nate Ament averaging 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists

Henderson is dealing with an ongoing shoulder injury. The freshman guard has played in 24 games off the bench this season, averaging 7.8 minutes per game.

Ament suffered a right leg injury against Alabama last Saturday at Food City Center, crumping in pain after his leg folded awkwardly underneath him during a scrap on the floor for a loose ball. 

Ament exited with 7:42 left before halftime in the 71-69 loss, missed the rest of the first half and played just two minutes the rest of the way before being pulled from the game for good early in the second half.

He missed his first game of the season Tuesday at South Carolina. The Vols announced Monday night that Ament wouldn’t play as he continued to be evaluated.

Ament is averaging 17.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.1 minutes per game this season. 

‘We know to get the ultimate goal, we need (Nate Ament) to be at his best’

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said before practice Friday that Ament had done some running on the side but had not rejoined the Vols in practice.

“I know he’s doing everything he possibly can through rehab,” Barnes said, “working with Chad (Newman) and ‘G’ (Garrett Medenwald) and obviously through our doctors. And he’s a model patient, if that’s what you want to call him. But other than that, we don’t know. I’ve said it before, if it were up to him he’d play every game. But we’ve obviously got to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for Nate.”

Tennessee coaches pulled Ament out of the game against Alabama early in the second half, after the staff could tell he wasn’t moving well. He was officially ruled out for the Tuesday game at South Carolina on Monday night.

Barnes said Ament wanting to play through the injury “speaks volumes” about who he is as a player.

“He cares about this team,” Barnes said. “He cares about this program and it bothers him that he’s not able to help us right now. He knows what we’re trying to play for. But we know to get the ultimate goal, we need him to be at his best.”