It's happened again.
Tennessee will have to play the rest of this basketball season without sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler, who tore his left anterior cruciate ligament within the first three minutes of Tuesday night's 75-57 rout of Arkansas inside Thompson-Boling Arena. The ACL injury was feared immediately and confirmed Wednesday for the 5-foot-9, 171-pounder from Long Island, New York.
Zeigler averaged 10.7 points per game for the No. 12 Volunteers, who are 22-8 overall and 11-6 in Southeastern Conference play, and his average of 5.4 assists leads the league.
"I don't think anybody in the nation can replace Zakai and what he brings to the table," sophomore guard Jahmai Mashack said late Tuesday night in a news conference. "Outside of the assists and the shooting, it's just his energy. It's irreplaceable, but whether he's been in or out, we always have to have that laser focus and go from there."
The late-season setback for the Vols, who went just 4-5 in February games but have resounding triumphs this season over No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Kansas and No. 9 Texas, is reminiscent of the football program losing quarterback Hendon Hooker to a left ACL tear in last November's loss at South Carolina. The football Vols responded by blanking Vanderbilt 56-0 in Nashville and by stunning Clemson 31-14 in the Orange Bowl to complete a rewarding 11-2 season.
Tennessee will conclude its regular season Saturday afternoon (2 on ESPN) at Auburn, with the SEC tournament set for next week and the NCAA tournament the following week.
"We all hurt for Zakai, and we know that he's hurt," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "For him to stay down — he's hurt. We all felt that, but the maturity of our senior class took over this game. Our seniors have been through a lot, and we've felt all year that whatever we had to go into a game with that we could find a way, because we believe in our defense and rebounding.
"Everybody struggles with scoring, and hopefully we'll keep finding a way to win games, but he is such an unbelievably wonderful person who has really grown as a point guard and a leader."
Zeigler gained national attention last winter, when his family's New York City apartment was destroyed in a fire. A GoFundMe effort was set up through Tennessee and raised more than $363,000, which allowed his family to relocate to Knoxville in the spring.
The Vols will move forward with as many as four players sharing the load at point: Mashack, seniors Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James, and freshman B.J. Edwards. Mashack played some point guard in high school and dished out a career-high five assists after Zeigler went down, but he admits to not having many reps at that spot in practice.
Mashack is known for his defensive tenacity, but his minutes this season have largely depended on the health of James, who has missed 12 games due to either knee soreness or a sprained ankle.
"Jahmai has been a part of some big wins, but he would tell you that when Josiah came back, he kind of checked out a little bit," Barnes said. "I told him, 'You can't do that. You've earned the right to stay out here and play. There are enough minutes for everybody.'
"He's versatile and brings a different element to our team that we desperately need. He's a big part of where we are right now, and we need him."
James and Vescovi played some point when they were freshmen on Tennessee's 2019-20 team that went 17-14 and was in rebuilding mode much of that winter following the losses of Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield from the 31-6 squad the season before.
Both seniors played at point Tuesday night, with senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua saying of James running the show: "I really had some flashbacks. That hadn't happened in a long time."
Hours before Tuesday's tip, Zeigler was the SEC's only representative named among the 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. Even before his injury, he scored the contest's first points on a driving layup and dished out his 161st assist, matching the total Kennedy Chandler tallied last season for the Vols before becoming an NBA second-round pick of the Memphis Grizzlies.
"We've always been the kind of team that when one of us goes down, somebody is ready to step up, but it's unfortunate," Nkamhoua said. "It's really unfortunate. We really need 'Z,' and he's a really big part of this team.
"Obviously we're all going to feel down about it, but there is no room for self doubt. What we still have can make something really special happen."
Odds and ends
The Vols finished 14-2 at home this season and improved to 3-0 when wearing their "Tennessee Classic" uniforms. ... Nkamhoua on whether he will return next season: "I think it's better if you guys make your own theories about that right now." ... Mashack on the Vols averaging 80 points the past two games: "We're playing with more speed and pace."
Baseball Vols win again
Blake Burke homered for the third consecutive game as Tennessee completed a two-game sweep of Charleston Southern with an 8-2 victory Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Burke went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in four runs as the Vols won their eighth straight to improve to 8-2.
AJ Russell made his first career start, while Kansas transfer shortstop Maui Ahuna picked up his first RBI in his second game with the Vols.
Tennessee will continue its homestand at 6:30 p.m. Friday against Gonzaga in the opener of a three-game set.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.
Updated with more information at 9:50 p.m. on March 1, 2023.