KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee men's basketball has passed one of the most important steps to compete in the NCAA Tournament during the times of COVID-19: the Vols cleared quarantine on Tuesday afternoon. UT will practice in Indianapolis at 6 p.m. on Tuesday as well.
The Vols arrived in Indianapolis on Monday after spending the weekend in Nashville following its loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
"I don't think anybody in this tournament knows what it's gonna be like," Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said on Sunday after the NCAA Selection Show.
Tennessee and the other teams in the NCAA tournament will look to avoid the same fate as programs like Kansas and Virginia, who go into the tournament with COVID-19 concerns as players have been forced to quarantine. On the women's basketball side, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week and could miss the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
No. 5 seed Tennessee will play No. 12 seed Oregon State on Friday at 4:30 p.m. You can watch the game on TNT.