Georgia coach Mike White: Zakai Zeigler 'is such a presence defensively'
Zakai Zeigler had already matched a career high by halftime Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum. Not the eight points he scored in eight minutes minutes in the first half at Georgia. Not his five assists or three rebounds, either.
Tennessee’s junior point guard had six turnovers in the first half, helping Georgia close on a 9-0 run and cut what was once as much as a 14-point deficit down to five.
“(He) was too loose with the ball,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference. “… They hit him with what we would call somewhat of a black defensive pressure on the ball where they’re out there hedging really hard.”
Zakai Zeigler ‘does so many things that don’t show up in the stat sheet’
Only one of the six was labeled as a loose ball turnover. The other five were described as bad passes.
“He got down there deep too many times,” Barnes said, “and tried to make too many tough passes.”
Then the second half started and Zeigler tightened up. After No. 5 Tennessee rallied frantically in the final six minutes, coming back from down 11 points to win 85-79, closing the game on a 15-1 run, Zeigler finished with 18 points, five assists, five rebounds and six turnovers, committing none in the second half.
It continued the tear Zeigler has been on the last month. Over the last six games, he has combined for 111 points, 39 assists, 17 assists and 15 steals, averaging 18.5 points, 6.5 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.6 assists per game.
He’s scored 17 or more points and had five or more assists five times during those six games. He has just 12 turnovers during the run.
Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee vs. Florida, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
After the game, Georgia coach Mike White credited Zeigler not for any of the offensive numbers, but for all the things that don’t show up on the stat line.
“Zakai Zeigler is such a presence defensively,” White said after the game. “He does so many things that don’t show up in the stat sheet. The way he blew up our sideline offense, out of bounds defensively, with his activity and energy. I thought he was a huge factor.”
Zeigler played 38 minutes at Georgia, the fifth time in six games he’s played 35 or more minutes.
“There is a line there that we’d like to keep him under,” Barnes said of Zeigler’s minutes on Friday. “But I talk about it game-to-game. You got to try to win that game and we have to do what we have to do.”
