Tennessee loses Zakai Zeigler to apparent leg injury against Arkansas

The injury bug appeared to bite No. 12 Tennessee again and in a big way Tuesday night against Arkansas. Sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler went down with a non-contact injury with 17:06 left in the first half after driving baseline against the Razorbacks.

The sophomore point guard 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.

Zeigler opened the scoring for Tennessee with a layup before suffering the injury. Tennessee has dealt with injuries all season with senior wing Josiah-Jordan James missing 12 games with knee and ankle injuries, senior guard Santiago Vescovi missing three games with a shoulder injury, five-star freshman wing Julian Phillips missing four games with a hip injury and senior guard Tyreke Key missing two games with an ankle injury.

James made his return Saturday in Tennessee’s 85-45 win over South Carolina, scoring 18 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Phillips made his return early in the first half Tuesday against Arkansas, while Key missed his second straight game.

Zeigler is Tennessee’s second-leading scorer, averaging 11.0 points per game. He leads the Vols in assists, with 160 through 29 games, and steals, with 59. He recorded his fifth double-double of the season in the win over South Carolina on Saturday.

Julian Phillips missed four straight games with hip flexor injury

Phillips entered Tuesday averaging 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game this season, starting all 25 games he’s played in.

Key, who averages 8.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game, scored a season-high 23 points in loss to Missouri. He scored 21 in the second half of that game, helping the Vols rally from down 17 points before losing a second straight game on a buzzer-beater.

In three games that followed, Key had just nine points on 2-for-21 shooting, going 1-for-13 from the 3-point line. Barnes said Saturday night that it was unclear exactly when Key aggravated the injury and reiterated it again on Monday.

“You know what, he’s had some issues from the past,” Barnes said. “Tyreke is very tough-minded person. He’s a guy that if he’s hurt, he pretty much keeps it to himself. And he would tell you he has no idea what made it swell up on him the way it did when he walked in here on Saturday. But he is doing everything. And obviously (team trainer) Chad (Newman) and (strength coach) Garrett (Medenwald) are doing everything they can from their part.”

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

James scored 18 points in 21 minutes off the bench against South Carolina, making his first three shots of the night and finishing 7-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-7 from the 3-point line.

“I thought he was very poised,” Barnes said of James. “Certainly his presence really does help Santi and Zakai (Zeigler) and those guys are playing, because he’s been in a lot of big situations, big moments with us. I thought his demeanor was terrific. 

“He is certainly not in the physical shape that he wants to be in, but he’ll get himself back there. Because I think this couple weeks, when you talk about an ankle injury he’s had, it’s hard to keep your conditioning up. 

“I don’t think you can get out of shape at this time of year,” Barnes added, “with the work that he’s done, but it will take a little bit, a couple days, to get it back where he wants to be. Overall, his presence made a big difference.”