Tennessee beat the Florida Gators on Friday afternoon in Nashville, but they may have lost John Fulkerson in the process. The senior Tennessee leader took two elbows to the head in the second half of the victory, delivered by Omar Payne of Florida.
Payne was sent off and Fulkerson went to the locker room for further examination. Eventually, Fulkerson was dropped by Tennessee until the end of the game.
The situation was dire and the two teams had to be separated after the incident. The focus now shifts to Fulkerson’s availability going forward, starting with a clash with Alabama in the SEC semifinals tomorrow afternoon.
“I didn’t see that,” said Rick Barnes after the game. “I had already looked the other way, turned the other way. I did not see it. I heard it was not a good thing, obviously. They took him to the hospital just for observation. I think it was more in his eyes than anything else. Tomorrow, I don’t know now if we can say that we can count on him. Once again, let’s wait and see. My hunch, he gave two good licks right there and I would be surprised if he is available. “
Fulkerson finished with eight points in 3-4 field shots in 19 minutes. Tennessee stayed small without Fulkerson on the floor, changing Josiah-Jordan James to four and Yves Pons to five. The game was over at that point, with Tennessee managing a double-digit lead.
Volunteers will face Alabama No. 1 tomorrow – a situation that can really reward them for playing small ball. Delivery is scheduled for 1 pm Eastern Time on ESPN.