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Is Zakai Zeigler the third-most valuable player in college basketball? One analyst says so

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 11 hours•

GrantRamey

Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics
Guard Zakai Zeigler #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Tennessee Volunteers at Reed Arena in College Station, TX. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Zakai Zeigler is the third-most valuable player in the country, according to college basketball analyst Evan Miyakawa. Tennessee’s senior point guard is behind only Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome, the two players battling for the national player of the year awards.

According to Miyakawa, Zeigler has a 4.77 offensive performance rating and a 3.35 defensive performance rating, giving him an 8.12 overall rating. 

“Zakai Zeigler is somehow still underrated,” Miyakawa wrote Saturday after No. 6 Tennessee beat No. 7 Texas A&M 77-69. “He did everything down the stretch to get the Vols a huge road win in this top-10 matchup.”

Flagg leads in the overall player rating at 10.18, with a 5.84 rating on offense and 4.33 on defense. Broome is second at 10.09 overall, with a 6.88 offensive rating and a 3.21 defensive rating.

Zakai Zeigler this season: 13.5 points, 7.5 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals per game 

Behind Zeigler is Houston’s Joseph Tugler (8.06 overall), Missouri’s Anthony Robinson II (8.01), Florida’s Thomas Haugh (7.91), Auburn’s Dylan Cardwell (7.88), Purdue’s Braden Smith (7.88), Gonzaga’s Braden Huff (7.85) and Marquette’s Kam Jones (7.85).

Tennessee left Reed Arena in College Station with a win on Saturday thanks in large part to two huge plays made by Zeigler in the final 62 seconds to take down the Aggies.

First he blocked A&M’s Wade Taylor IV on a 3-point attempt at the top of the key with 1:02 left, while Tennessee was clinging to a 68-65 lead.

He put the game out of reach with a 3-pointer of his own with 21.1 seconds left to put Tennessee ahead 75-69, shooting off an inbound pass from Jordan Gainey with just five seconds left on the shot clock. 

“We’ve seen him do it,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference. “It seems like the bigger the moment, he thrives on that. But you know, he’s such a special player, the things that he does for his teammates.”

Zakai Zeigler scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half at Texas A&M

Zeigler scored 16 points and had seven assists for Tennessee (22-5, 9-5 SEC) in the win at A&M, scoring 13 of the 16 points in the second half. 

He’s having a career year, averaging 13.5 points, 7.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 34.3 minutes per game. 

Zeigler has been at his best over his last five games, since suffering a right knee injury late in the first half against Kentucky on January 28 and missing the 64-44 win over Florida on February 1.

Since then, he has averaged 18.6 points, 7.6 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He’s 12-for-18 from the 3-point line during that five-game stretch and 27-for-45 from the field.

“What you see and the way you see him play,” Barnes said, “it’s hard to get guys to do that, but it’s just in his DNA. But he’s never going to quit.”

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