Joshua Jefferson's Injury Status Day Before Tennessee vs. Iowa State

The Tennessee Volunteers and the Iowa State Cyclones are set to tip off on Friday night in a game that will be valued as one of the more anticipated contests of the Sweet Sixteen. This game is the last game to tip off in the round, and the Vols await the announcement of a player who may be playing in the game.

Iowa State has a ton of good players, but their best player has been Joshua Jefferson. Jefferson is one of the better players in the country when he is healthy, as he is averaging 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. While he isn't the best scorer on the team in terms of stats, he is easily the most balanced player on their roster, which makes this injury very significant.

The status has been revealed, and Jefferson will be a game-time decision for this contest, as it has been confirmed that he will be one of the only players unknown ahead of the contest. Their head coach, TJ Otzelberger, provided the update.

TJ Otzelberger Comments on the Injury

"He’s working tirelessly every day,” Otzelberger said. “Countless sessions in the training room, everything he can. His ankle is getting better every single day. It’s going to take right up to game time, we’re going to give it every possible chance to do that, and he’s doing everything that he can do."

Jefferson missed the game against the Kentucky Wildcats, and the Cyclones still got the best of the Wildcats in the end. This game will be much closer if Jefferson is on the court in terms of how the roster lines up, but there is no reason to believe that even if he plays, he will be 100%

While now you know what he did in the college basketball season this year, it is important to note that he had an electric year last year as well, which has helped name him as one of the better players in the country. Here is some more information on how his 2024-2025 season went just a year ago.

"Started all 35 games … averaged 13.0 points, a team-best 7.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, a team-best 2.1 steals and 0.7 blocked shots in 29.6 minutes per game … shot 52 percent from the field, 31 percent from deep and 75.6 percent at the free throw line … was 18th in the country, and third in the Big 12, with 74 steals … ranked 30th in the country, and third in the Big 12, with 2.11 steals per game … ranked 56th in the country, and fourth in the Big 12, with nine double-doubles … ranked 78th in the country, and fourth in the Big 12, with 5.51 defensive rebounds per game … ranked 79th in the country with 259 rebounds … finished the season with 454 points, 259 rebounds, 109 assists, 74 steals and 26 blocked shots, becoming the first player in Big 12 history to have those numbers in a season … he was the only player in the country to reach those numbers this year and just the 11th since 1974-75 to do so … became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to finish with 10 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocked shots in an NCAA Tournament game … scored a career-high 30 points against UCF … tied a career-high with 13 rebounds against Jackson State … tied a career-high three times with eight assists in a game … had a career-high eight steals at Colorado … blocked a career-high three shots against Morgan State … Iowa State went 21-8 in the games he reached double figures, while going 8-1 in games he reached double-digit rebounds … fifth player in Big 12 history to have 100 or more assists while being 6’9” or taller … his 74 steals were tied for the fourth-most in program history and the second-most by a junior … his 2.11 steals per game are the 10th-most in program history ... his eight assists against Lipscomb were the fifth-most by a Cyclone in the NCAA Tournament and the most by a non-guard," Iowa State's website confirmed.