Josiah-Jordan James is day to day with ankle injury prior to Tennessee basketball vs. Missouri

Josiah-Jordan James is day to day with a left ankle sprain, a Tennessee basketball spokesperson said Friday.

No. 5 Tennessee (19-5, 8-3 SEC) hosts Missouri (18-6, 6-5) on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Vols have lost two of their past three games after dropping 66-65 at Vanderbilt on Wednesday in Nashville.

James was injured in the final minute against the Commodores. The senior guard tipped a rebound out to Zakai Zeigler late with UT ahead by two and came up limping. He had to be helped off the court by UT strength and conditioning coach Garrett Medenwald and senior forward Uros Plavsic.

Vols coach Rick Barnes said after the loss that James suffered a sprained ankle. Barnes said Friday that James was wearing a walking boot Thursday.

James missed eight of Tennessee’s first 13 games due to knee soreness stemming from an offseason knee procedure. He missed four straight games twice, but had played in 11 straight games. He had started the past seven games.

The Charleston, South Carolina, native had a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double in Tennessee’s 46-43 win against Auburn on Feb. 4.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Josiah-Jordan James injury update prior to Tennessee basketball vs. Missouri