Tennessee vs. Purdue Predictions & injury report: Latest on Santiago Vescovi and more (March 31)

The Elite Eight out of the Midwest Region has some serious firepower as the second-seeded Tennessee Volunteers take on the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers this afternoon.

With so much on the line, the availability of some players will loom large so let's take a closer look at the injury report and discuss who might be playing at less than 100%.

Tennessee vs Purdue injury report

Santiago Vescovi, Tennessee

Senior guard Santiago Vescovi had his name pop up on the injury report as he is battling an illness but is expected to play today.

The illness forced him to miss the Sweet 16 game against the Creighton Bluejays but he seems to have recovered enough that he will be back in the starting lineup.

Saint Peter's v Tennessee

Vescovi has played a vital role for the program as he is averaging 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game with a 37.2/32.8/79.6 shooting split in 25.6 minutes per game this season.

Tennessee vs. Purdue predictions

This game is expected to be a barn burner, as the spread has the Purdue Boilermakers favored by 3.5 points and these teams match up incredibly well with one another.

This is going to be highlighted by the battle of the superstars, as the Vols have guard Dalton Knecht while the Boilermakers have center Zach Edey.

Creighton v Tennessee

These two teams actually played against one another earlier this season in the Allstate Maui Invitational and Purdue picked up a 71-67 victory back on Nov. 21.

Purdue should have the advantage, as they did not play well in that game and still pulled out the victory.

The Boilermakers have not allowed more than 68 points in an NCAA Tournament game this season and should be able to limit what Dalton Knecht can do offensively.

Expect Zach Edey to dominate down low with a 25+ point and 12+ rebound performance and the Purdue Boilermakers to easily cover the spread to advance to the Final Four.