Santiago Vescovi has had a number of memorable accomplishments in his time in Knoxville. The Tennessee Volunteers' star guard will reach another one on Saturday afternoon as soon as the Vols and Vanderbilt Commodores tip off around 5:00 pm ET.
According to Tennessee Athletics, Vescovi will surpass Allan Houston (1989-1993) and Chris Lofton (2004-2008) for the most starts in program history on Saturday against Vanderbilt.
Vescovi, who hails from Montevideo, Uruguay, came to Tennessee as a mid-term enrollee during the 2019-2020 season after attending the NBA Global Academy in Australia. He wasted little time in making an impression, scoring 18 points as a starter in his first career action against LSU on January 4, 2020.
Since then, Vescovi etched his name in both Tennessee and SEC record books. In Tennessee's win over Alabama last weekend, Vescovi passed Vanderbilt's John Jenkins to reach ninth on the SEC all-time list for made three pointers with 306. He's one of four Tennessee players ever to reach 1000 points, 300 assists, and 150 steals, joining C.J. Watson, Brandon Wharton, and Fred Jenkins.
Vescovi has been a part of some very memorable wins in Knoxville. He tallied a game-high 17 points as the Vols beat Texas A&M 65-50 to win their first SEC tournament title in 43 years in 2022. Vescovi also delivered 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and two steals in last year's 65-52 win over Duke to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
After becoming Tennessee's new "iron man" on Saturday, Vescovi will look to help the Vols make it all the way to somewhere they never have before - the Final Four.
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