Zakai Zeigler reveals what boosts Tennessee's confidence on defense

When No. 4 Tennessee gets rolling, it can feel like an avalanche on their opposition. The Volunteer’s defense is already top-notch, but, when you add in some offensive success? They become a massive load to handle. After Georgia was the latest team to find this out for themselves, sophomore guard Zakai Zeigler agreed that these performances only make him and his teammates more confident.

During postgame after defeating the Bulldogs 70-41, Zeigler spoke about Tennessee’s ability to be able to put it on teams in this way. He said building a lead on the back of their defense gives them the confidence to keep their run going, specifically by giving them more spirit on the offensive end.

“Honestly, I feel like that’s the whole point,” Zeigler said. “When we see a team get down, it just boosts our confidence on (defense). Then that makes us get even more confident on the offensive end.”

Georgia hung around in Knoxville early as it was a two-point game around the 10-minute mark of the first half. From there on, though, it was nothing but Tennessee. The Vols built an 11-point lead they’d take into the locker room. That lead then blossomed to as much as 31 points in the second half.

That all started with them holding the Bulldogs to 29.1% shooting from the field overall, including just 25.9% in the second half. They also forced Georgia into 20 total turnovers while holding them to just 19 second-half points. Throw in some decent enough shooting from the Volunteers at 41.9% from the field and you can see how this turned as quickly as it did.

As Zeigler said, this is Tennessee’s recipe. They’re all about stops and, with the No. 1 defense in the nation, they’re locking teams down on that end. From there, all they have to do is lean on that and find some form of offense. That’s what turns what may be close games for some teams into blowouts for them.