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Zakai Zeigler breaks Tennessee Basketball's single-season assist record

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 10 hours•

GrantRamey

Zakai Zeigler
USA TODAY IMAGES/Saul Young

Zakai Zeigler is Tennessee Basketball’s new single-season assist king. The senior point guard broke the previous program record of 227 on Friday afternoon in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal against Texas, finishing the game with six assists to give him 230 on the season.

Rodney Woods set the previous record over 26 games during the 1974-75 season. Johnny Darden was second on the all-time list with 221 in 27 games in 1976-77. 

Zeigler tied the record with his third assist of the game on Friday after finding Felix Okpara in the post with 8:53 left in the first half. He broke the record when Jahmai Mashack scored at the 17:43 mark in the second half.

Darden holds the Tennessee career assist record with 715 over 109 games between 1975 to 1979. Zeigler’s six assists on Friday gives him 702 for his career, in 132 games.

Zeigler had eight assists against South Carolina on Saturday, after recording seven on Tennessee’s first eight made shots of the game.

He tied a season-high 15 at Ole Miss on March 5, matching the 15 he had against Middle Tennessee State on December 23.

Zakai Zeigler leads SEC in assists

Zeigler’s average of 7.5 assists per game is a season high. He leads the SEC by nearly two assists per game, with Arkansas guard Boogie Fland second at 5.7 per game before Fland was injured.

Zeigler has 10 or more assists in five games this season, nine or more in 11 games, eight or more in 16 games and seven or more in 17 games. He recorded five or less assists in only five games.

He flirted with the single-season record with 218 in 36 games last season. He had 161 in 30 games as a sophomore in 2022-23 and 93 in 35 games as a freshman in 2021-22. 

Zeigler is having career year in his final season with the Vols, averaging 13.5 points, 7.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 34.2 minutes per game. 

He’s the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and has been an All-SEC player each of the past three seasons, averaging 11.1 points, 5.3 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 29.0 minutes per game over his 130-game career.

Bill Hann, Bert Bertelkamp hold other Tennessee assist records

Bill Hann holds the single-game assist record with 19 against Alabama in 1968. Bert Bertelkamp holds Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament single-game assist record with 16 against Maryland, set on March 8, 1980.

Bertelkamp last week announced his retirement as Tennessee Basketball’s radio color analyst, going out alongside retiring play-by-play man and ‘Voice of the Vols’ Bob Kesling. 

Bertelkamp that the single-game NCAA Tournament record is the next one he hopes Zeigler breaks. 

“It would be fine if it’s in the Final Four,” Bertelkamp said. “If he breaks it before that, it won’t be so great … what an amazing player. It’s been an honor to cover him.” 

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