INDIANAPOLIS — First Zakai Zeigler broke Tennessee Basketball’s single-season assist record. Then he broke the program’s career record. Now he has broken the Southeastern Conference single-season assist record.
With his first assist against Kentucky Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game at Lucas Oil Stadium, Zeigler broke the mark previous held by former Ole Miss point guard Sean Tuohy, who had 260 for Ole Miss in 1979-80.
Zeigler broke the Tennessee single-season record of 227, held by Rodney Woods since the 1974-75 season, during Tennessee’s SEC Tournament quarterfinal game on March 14 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Last week at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Zeigler broke the Tennessee career record with his second assist in the first-round win over Wofford at Rupp Arena. Johnny Darden held the previous career mark with 715 from 1975-79.
Zeigler flirted with the Tennessee 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.
He’s having career year in his final season with the Vols, averaging 13.7 points, 7.4 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 35 games, shooting 41.3% from the field and 32.6% from the 3-point line in 34.1 minutes per game.
Zeigler also holds Tennessee’s career steals record, entering Friday’s game with 250, 38 ahead of of Santiago Vescovi.
He also entered the Sweet 16 games with 69 steals on the season, nine short of LaMarcus Golden’s record of 78 in 1993-94. Kennedy Chandler had 74 steals in 2021-22 and JaJuan Smith had 73 steals in 2006-07.
Zeigler is the reigning two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year and has been an All-SEC player in each of his four seasons, averaging 11.3 points, 5.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 29.2 minutes per game over his 136-game career.
Zeigler has 10 or more assists in five games this season, nine or more in 10 games, eight or more in 17 games and seven or more in 18 games. He recorded five or less assists in only five games.
Bill Hann holds the Tennessee single-game assist record with 19 against Alabama in 1968. BertBertelkamp holds Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament single-game assist record with 16 against Maryland, set on March 8, 1980.
Zeigler had 12 assists against Wofford in the first round and six assists against UCLA in the second round.
Bertelkamp announced his retirement as Tennessee Basketball’s radio color analyst on March 7, going out alongside retiring play-by-play man and ‘Voice of the Vols’ Bob Kesling at the end of the season.
Bertelkamp said at the time 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.”
