Lamont Butler shares respect for Zakai Zeigler after NCAA Tournament matchup

Game recognizes game. After Kentucky fell 78-65 to Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday, Wildcats point guard Lamont Butler had high praise for Volunteers star Zakai Zeigler.

“He’s a really good player. Really good player,” Butler said. “He’s one of the best point guards in the country. Tonight he played well, as he’s been doing pretty much all year. Just definitely congrats to him and his team for going on farther in the tournament.

“It was a great matchup and I feel like I held my own, and was able to go out there and really compete. And at the end of the day, that’s all I can ask for.”

Zeigler was a standout in the win, recording team-highs of 18 points and 10 assists while shooting 5-13 from the field. For reference, Kentucky finished the game with just 10 assists total as a team.

While most of Kentucky’s team failed to keep up with Tennessee, Lamont Butler held his own. The fifth-year senior finished the game with 18 points and six assists while shooting 7-10 from the floor.

It was a bit of revenge for Zeigler, who shot a combined 1-13 from 3-point range in Tennessee’s two losses to Kentucky earlier this season. Zeigler must have really earned the Wildcats’ respect for them to give him props after the game.

Earlier this week, Kentucky’s players weren’t happy with Zeigler after a photo of him flipping off a UK logo went viral online. Kentucky center Amari Williams particularly wasn’t happy with the gesture.

“It’s cute when you got a team like that that haven’t beat us in how long? You know, you’re gonna be mad about that,” Williams said. “But we don’t really care about that. They can do whatever but we’ll be ready on the court.”

Zakai Zeigler had the last laugh. The 5-foot-9 point guard made history on Friday when he became the SEC’s all-time assists leader with his first assist of the game. He now has 271 career assists. After Tennessee’s win over Kentucky, Zeigler revealed the Volunteers’ mindset going into the rematch.

“We really wanted to set the tone and show them who we were,” Zeigler said. “The first two times we played them at their place and our place. We knew regardless of what happened, we were going to go out and play Tennessee basketball on the offensive and defensive end, and I feel like we did that great tonight.”