Zakai Zeigler has become one of the most beloved players in Tennessee basketball history.
On Friday, the 5-foot-9 point guard could make program history when the fourth-seeded Volunteers (25-6) take on 13th-seeded Texas (19-14) in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville.
If Zeigler collects four assists, he’ll set a single-season program record with 228, eclipsing Rodney Woods from 1974-75. And Zeigler didn’t have the advantage of feeding Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld, as Woods did.
Not bad for a guy who four years ago had two commit-now-or-forget-it-offers from Bryant and Saint Peter’s in the summer after he graduated from high school. Then he hit seven 3-pointers in a Peach Jam game in Augusta, Ga., and suddenly the secret was out.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes has a history with turning small guards into stars — think Boogie McIntyre at Clemson or T.J. Ford at Texas.
“He just plays at a high level,” Barnes said of Zeigler. “Seems like he never gets tired.”
Zeigler averages 13.1 points and 7.5 assists per game for the eighth-ranked Volunteers, who are coming into the tournament off a 75-65 win Saturday over South Carolina in their regular-season finale. Chaz Lanier leads the Tennessee attack with an average of 17.9 ppg, while Jordan Gainey (10.9) and Igor Milicic (10.2) also hit in extra digits.
With Zeigler distributing and taking care of the ball, Tennessee ranks 19th in Division I in assist-turnover ratio at 1.6. The Volunteers also offer a physical defense that excels at rim protection, ranking 17th in the nation at 5.1 blocked shots per game.
How the Longhorns hold up against such a physical opponent will be the story within the game. They’ll play their third game in as many days after surviving fifth-seeded Texas A&M on Thursday for a 94-89 double-overtime win in the second round.
Six players scored in double figures for Texas, led by freshman Tre Johnson with 20 points. He made just 8 of 21 shots from the field, but one was a clutch 3-pointer in the second overtime that gave his team the lead for good at 87-85 with 2:08 remaining.
Johnson was asked after the game if his heavy workload so far will affect him after logging 38 minutes Wednesday in a 79-72 win over Vanderbilt and 44 on Thursday.
“Biggest thing for me is getting a good night’s rest,” he said. “I feel like that’s been helping me out. I got a lot of gas in the tank. I wasn’t too tired out there, especially going double overtime. Haven’t done that before.”
Johnson is averaging 20.1 ppg on 42.7 percent shooting from the field. If he can summon one more big effort, it might result in the Longhorns nabbing an at-large NCAA bid that didn’t seem possible when they lost the regular-season finale Saturday against Oklahoma.
Texas coach Rodney Terry made a case for his team after their emotional victory against their arch-rival, Texas A&M.
“We have star power,” he said. “We’re playing well. I think all that matters.”
The winner of this matchup will advance to a semifinal on Saturday afternoon against either top-seeded Auburn or No. 8 seed Ole Miss.
