Rebels Battling COVID, Injuries Prior to Matchup With Tennessee

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss men's basketball is preparing for a trip to take on No. 18 Tennessee with a limited roster due to injuries and COVID protocols.

The Rebels' SEC opener against Florida, originally set for Dec. 29, was postponed due to positive tests within the Gators' program, but Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis said on Tuesday that his team was experiencing issues as well.

"Obviously, we haven't played in 15 days," Davis said. "Our team was down probably four of our top six, but we were going to play against Florida with seven guys available."

Davis didn't name which players had entered COVID protocols on Tuesday, but he did say that two had begun that morning. He also said that Rebel guard Jarkel Joiner is questionable to make the trip and is possibly a game-time decision due to a lower back injury.

"[COVID has] kind of run through our team a little bit," Davis said, "but if we have seven scholarship players, we're going to go to Tennessee and do everything to play that game."

That number of scholarship players and one full-time coach on staff is a requirement from the SEC for games to be played.

Last season was heavily impacted by COVID-19, but things seemed to relax heading into this basketball season before the onset of the Omicron variant took the nation and world by storm.

"Everybody's going through it, not just Ole Miss," Davis said. "It is frustrating. We thought it was behind us. The people in our program who have tested positive, it's been really mild cases. I hate it for the players and fans."

Despite that, Davis has full intention on playing Wednesday's game in Knoxville.

"We've had some good practices the last couple of days," Davis said. "Going to go play a really good Tennessee team that's nationally-ranked and good at home. We're looking forward to that."

Tip-off between Ole Miss and Tennessee is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rebels? Click Here.

Follow The Grove Report On Facebook and Twitter.