'We haven't done anything yet': Tennessee has unfinished business in the Elite Eight

INDIANAPOLIS — Zakai Zeigler can still recall the mistakes a year later. After Tennessee’s 72-66 loss to Purdue in the Elite Eight, the veteran point guard couldn’t peel himself away from the film. 

“I went home and probably watched that game 20, 30 times from start to finish,” Zeigler said Friday night. “It’s definitely something I just remember. Some plays that we might have looked lazy on, especially myself, like might have looked tired.”

Tennessee led by as many as 11 points in the first half. The Vols got 37 dazzling points from Dalton Knecht. But what was a tie game with seven minutes left and a one-point game with 3:41 to go fell apart down the stretch. 

Zach Edey scored 40 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and went to the foul line 22 times. And Tennessee didn’t have enough answers. 

Zeigler finished with nine points, eight assists and four rebounds, but went just 3-for-12 from the field, including 1-for-8 from the 3-point line.

“Watching that game from last year as many times as I did,” Zeigler said, “it definitely hurts.”

Up Next: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Houston, Elite Eight

Tennessee will try to channel that pain on Sunday afternoon, 365 days later, with another shot in the Elite Eight against Houston. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS, the same exact timeslot as last year. 

Houston (33-4), the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, advanced with a 62-60 win over No. 4 Purdue in Friday’s late game, eliminating the Boilermakers on a basket with 0.9 seconds left. 

No. 2 Tennessee (30-7) dominated No. 3 Kentucky in a 78-65 win to make it two straight Elite Eight appearances and just the third in program history.

“We were in the same situation last year,” Zeigler said, “and we had a feeling we didn’t like. Even just thinking about it right now, we had a feeling that we don’t want to feel again.”

Assistant coach Rod Clark connected other dots in the locker room after the Sweet 16 win.

Zeigler and fellow senior guard Jahmai Mashack lost in the second round as freshmen three years ago, upset by No. 11-seed Michigan just down the road from Lucas Oil Stadium at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

They lost in the Sweet 16 as sophomores, falling to Final Four-bound Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden.

Then they lost in the Elite Eight as juniors. 

“Now we’re back to the Elite Eight,” Clark said. “What’s the next step?”

The next step is a step Tennessee has never taken: The Final Four. 

“And I think they know it,” Clark said. “We talked about it since the beginning of the year, actually since the summer, to be honest. It’s the next thing we need to do to make the push and make it to a Final Four and then get to the national championship game.”

Rick Barnes: The Final Four ‘is the goal everyone chases’

Rick Barnes has been to one Final Four, in 2003 in New Orleans, and has been looking for the second trip for the last 22 years. 

“That is the goal everybody chases,” Barnes said. “Everyone knows the goal is to be the last team on Monday night standing. We have got a chance. It will be down to eight teams after tonight. We have got a chance. Hope that we can keep moving.”

Zeigler’s wasn’t toying with the idea of a Final Four after his dominance against Kentucky, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds. 

Instead, he was locked in on the possession-by-possession battle that will be the Elite Eight. He knows it because he couldn’t stop watching the tape, seeing over and over how the opportunity slipped away a year ago. 

“It’s about execution and just being focused,” he said. “And toughness. Everybody is tired. It’s the end of season. It’s only eight teams left playing. If we plan on being one of those four teams playing next weekend, we have to go out there and execute and be ourselves.”

“Handle business,” Zeigler added, “and take care of what we need to take care of. But every time we’re out there, we need to be able to execute. We need to be able to stay focused and we need to be able to be tough.”

Tennessee has been here before. The Vols know they have unfinished business. 

“The Elite Eight is not a championship,” Igor Milicic Jr. said. “We haven’t done anything yet.”