Zakai Zeigler out for season with torn ACL

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•03/01/23•

GrantRamey

The immediate fear Tuesday night was confirmed after an MRI was performed on Wednesday. Tennessee sophomore point guard Zakai Ziegler suffered a torn ACL and is done for the season after going down with the non-contact injury against Arkansas at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Zeigler, after a baseline drive with 17:06 left in the first half, crumpled in pain and was carried off the floor by team trainers. He did not put any weight on the injured left leg while being taken off the court.

Head coach Rick Barnes said after Tennessee’s 75-57 win over Arkansas that he knew how bad the injury must have been when he saw Zeigler stay down on the court, writhing in pain while clutching his left leg.

“We all hurt for Zakai,” Barnes said during his postgame press conference. “We know that he’s hurt. For him to stay down, he’s hurt. We all felt that … he pops right back up every single time when he goes down.”

Zakai Zeigler this season: 10.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals in 28.7 minutes per game

Zeigler opened the scoring against the Razorbacks on a layup at the 18:55 mark and recorded an assist 67 seconds later on an Olivier Nkamhoua dunk to make it a 4-0 lead for Tennessee. The assist gave him 161 on the season, tying the number Kennedy Chandler finished with over 34 games last season. 

Zeigler is tied with Nkamhoua as Tennessee’s second-leading scorer, averaging 10.7 points per game. He leads the Vols in assists — Santiago Vescovi’s 80 is second behind Zeigler’s 161 — and steals (59). He recorded his fifth double-double of the season in the win over South Carolina on Saturday.

He is second on the team in minutes, averaging 28.7 minutes while playing in all 30 games before the injury.

Tennessee (22-8, 11-6 SEC) closes the regular-season schedule at Auburn (19-10, 9-7) on Saturday (2 p.m. Eastern Time; ESPN). The Vols are fourth in the SEC standings and looking to lock in one of the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament bracket, which would mean a double-bye into the quarterfinal round on March 10.

Santiago Vescovi took over the majority of the minutes at point guard after Zeigler was injured and finished with 14 points. Olivier Nkamhoua had  16 points and seven rebounds and Josiah-Jordan James had 11. Jonas Aidoo scored eight and Tobe Awaka had seven points and eight rebounds.

Jahmai Mashack scored six points and had five assists. Julian Phillips scored seven points to go with five rebounds and three assists while making his return from a hip injury.

Tyreke Key missed his second straight game with an ankle injury but the graduate-transfer shooting guard is expected to be available Saturday at Auburn. 

Injuries have been a constant for Tennessee this season. James missed eight games earlier this season with knee soreness, then four straight with a sprained left ankle, before returning in the 85-45 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

Vescovi missed three games with a shoulder injury and Phillips missed four in a row with a hip flexor injury before returning Tuesday night against Arkansas.

“Anytime anything goes down with us like that,” Nkamhoua said of the injuries, “we all step up and really focus on making sure we play harder and everybody fills in for whatever is missed … ‘Z’ is a really big part of this team and we’re hoping for his recovery and he’s feeling well.”

Up Next: No. 12 Tennessee at Auburn, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

Mashack said the Vols had to regroup in the immediate aftermath of the Zeigler injury, after seeing their starting point guard getting carried off the floor.

“It was a little bit quiet because that’s one of our guys,” Mashack said. “That’s our brother. We were just kind of thinking about the situation. We’re human and we’re not just robots thinking about the next thing. 

“We’re really thinking about if he’s okay, his well being outside of basketball. It’s a lot bigger than that but once that whistle goes up and it’s time to play again our mindset is back on the game. From there, we have to play those however minutes it was.”

Tennessee never trailed after Zeigler’s layup to start the game, leading for all but the first 65 seconds. The advantage was as big as 10 in the first half, then ballooned to 24 with 3:30 left in the second half.

“After the game we’re thinking about Zakai again,” Mashack added. “The win is great. We love winning, but it’s basketball at the end of the day. It’s a game that we play for fun and that’s a guy, it’s his life. Injuries happen. We have to make sure he’s okay and pick him up first-and-foremost.”

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