Zakai Zeigler's command was 'as good as it's ever been' against Mississippi State

Tennessee basketball’s offense had been waiting all season for a night like Tuesday. Starting a game with a 16-0 run. Building the lead to 29 points in the first half, then stretching it to as much as 36 after halftime. Shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor and over 57 percent from the 3-point line.

Those were the numbers as the eighth-ranked Vols hammered Mississippi State 87-53 at Thompson-Boling Arena. Rick Barnes said after the game it was as simple as just making shots.

“I mean, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve always said making shots makes up for a multitude of sins. We played really good basketball.”

There were no sins in Zakai Zeigler’s game. Tennessee’s sophomore point guard scored 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, going 3-for-5 from the 3-point line, and had a career-high 10 assists in 24 minutes, recording his first double-double at Tennessee.

“For him to do what he does on the defensive end,” Barnes said of Ziegler, who had a game-high three steals, “then play the kind of floor game he played on the offensive end, is pretty impressive.”

Vols’ offensive breakout flowed through Zakai Zeigler

Zeigler was one of five players for Tenenssee (12-2, 2-0 SEC) that scored in double-figures. Santiago Vescovi scored all 14 of his points in the first half. Five-star freshman Julian Phillips had 11 points and seven rebounds. Forwards Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each, going a combined 10-for-10 from the field. 

But everything flowed through Zeigler in what was arguably his most complete game with the Vols.

“He was really good,” Barnes said. “You look at it, 10 assists, two turnovers. He was really good. Thought he saw the floor well. Thought he was really smooth in terms of when the inside-out passes came to him. 

“Obviously it’s good when you see guys that, you need to see them making shots, make them. But I thought his command of what we needed to do was maybe as good as it’s ever been.”

Tennessee had a season-high 28 assists on 36 field goals, with seven players recording two or more assists and three players recording four or more. The Vols did it against a Mississippi State defense that, entering Tuesday’s game, was ranked No. 6 in KenPom.com‘s adjusted defensive efficiency.

“Coming into the game we knew what we were looking for,” Zeigler said, “and everything you all saw out on that court, that’s what was going on in practice the entire week. I would just put it towards the preparation. 

“Our coaches gave us a really good scouting report and our scout team helped us out on the defense they were going to give us and honestly it was the same exact thing from practice so I give it to our coaches and our preparation.”

Up Next: No. 8 Tennessee at South Carolina, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Tennessee will look for a 3-0 start in league play, and will look to continue its offensive momentum, at South Carolina (7-7, 0-1) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time; TV: SEC Network) before returning home to host Vanderbilt on Tuesday.

“When you’re hitting shots, you’re not tired,” Zeigler said. “It’s fun out there. Everybody out there has energy.”

After the rout of Mississippi State, Tennessee moved up one spot in the KenPom overall ratings, to No. 2, only trailing Houston. The Vols have been No. 1 in defensive efficiency the last six weeks and are now up to No. 38 in offensive efficiency. 

Zeigler said the offense performing the way it did Tuesday, on top of the elite defense the Vols have already established, shows just how high the ceiling is for this team.

“And not even just in the SEC,” he said, “but in the country. That just shows what we can be and what we know we can be. Because we haven’t been shooting the ball the best, but when our shots are falling and we start feeling ourselves a little bit, I feel like we’re going to carry that on for sure.”