Ad Disclosure
Zakai Zeigler discusses how Rick Barnes ‘lit a little fire’ under Tennessee during comeback win over Vanderbilt
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Zakai Zeigler and Tennessee came into Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt having already lost to the Commodores on the road. They made sure it didn’t happen again on their home floor as they came back to win 81-76.
The Commodores took a 44-31 lead into the locker room, leaving fans at Thompson-Bolling Arena fearing a repeat of what happened to their Vols team in January. But, according to Zeigler, Rick Barnes had some challenging words for the team at halftime.
“Going into the locker room, Coach Barnes said some things, and I felt like that lit a little fire under us,” Zeigler, who finished with 22 points and 8 assists, told the SEC Network. “[He said] ‘I just feel like some people don’t respect us all the way.’ When we heard that, I feel like we all looked at each other in the locker room. We was like … we got to show everybody to respect us more.”
RELATED: Be sure to use the Tennessee betting apps for all things Vols throughout the year!
The Vols eventually took control of the game, outscoring Vandy 50-32 in the second half. They trailed 70-69 with just over 3 minutes left before going on a 7-0 run and taking a 76-70 lead with 88 seconds remaining.
And after a 75-64 loss at Kentucky on Tuesday, the Volunteers are back in the win column, thanks in part to Zeigler.
“I’m the point guard of this team,” he said. “The team goes how I go, call a spade a spade. I just got to play well. It don’t matter if I’m shooting the ball good, it really matters if I’m running the team and just taking care of the ball.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
