Tennessee will be without their leading scorer Chris Lofton for Wednesday's game at Mississippi.

Lofton sprained his ankle early in the second half of the South Carolina game on Saturday.

"Chris Lofton's ankle is not broken and X-rays were negative. The bad news is he will not play Wednesday and there really is no time frame after that," head coach Bruce Pearl said.

The Vols will have to replace the SEC leading scorer with 21.5 points per game.

Tennessee will now look to freshman Josh Tabb and junior Jordan Howell to step into Lofton's role. After missing seven games with an injury, Howell returned against South Carolina and filled into Lofton's minutes with three points in 16 minutes.

"It was basically Jordan Howell who jumped into Chris' minutes. Josh Tabb played a lot more, 28 minutes was his career high, probably by a bunch," Pearl said. "You can expect that is where the majority of his minutes are going to get absorbed."

While Tabb and Howell will take on Lofton's minutes it will take an entire team effort to replace his productivity. Tabb is averaging three points per game and Howell is averaging 3.1 points per game.

"There are a lot of guys who have to step up and fill instead of just putting it on one player," Pearl said. "I am thinking a little bit more Ramar, a little bit more Dane, a little bit more JaJuan, a little bit more inside, but it's not specifically one thought. I think it has to be shared."

While it is uncertain how long the Vols will be without Lofton, Pearl says the Lofton is doing everything he can to get back as soon as possible. The Vols play at Rupp Arena on Sunday an arena that he is familiar with, he won a high school state championship there.

"Chris is going about this just like he does everything else. Very business like, very seriously. Whatever you want to say he will be doing it until he is able to get out there on the floor," Pearl said.

While the X-rays came back negative, Lofton and the coaches are waiting for the swelling to go down to determine the severity of the injury.