Ament's Grit: Tennessee Basketball's March Madness Push

0:00On March 21st, Tennessee's sixth-seated basketball team cruised to a 78-56 win over 11-seated Miami of Ohio in the first, round of the NCAA tournament. Freshman Nate Aiman saw just five minutes of action in the second half before exiting for good with 11-45 left, thanks to a nagging right. Leg injury that's lingered for the past month. A minute minute, the leg felt a bit sore during a few movements, so he stepped away to work on recovery once the vols built a big lead. Still, he's confident he'll suit up for Sunday's second-round matchup against third-seated Virginia, no matter what. Coach Rick Barnes praised Aiman's toughness, noting the rookie would play every minute if possible, despite not being fully healthy until season's end. Barnes mentioned saying Aiman wins through basic practice drills, but said rest is key right now with the lead secure. Leading up to the tournament, Aiman A logged 62 minutes over two days at the SEC tournament, including 32 against Auburn and 30 against Vanderbilt.

1:02That came after a 10-day layoff, shaking off rust, even as medical staff worried about his heavy workload. A mince sparked a comeback versus Auburn with 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks, but struggled against Vanderbilt, shooting just one. For 13, while grabbing 11 boards, his grid has the vols optimistic as they push deeper into March madness.