Rick Barnes praises Zakai Zeigler's 'infectious' mental makeup ahead of battle vs. Texas

Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers face a familiar foe on Saturday after blasting Saint Peter’s by 34 in the Round of 64.

The Vols’ and former Longhorns head coach all but knew this matchup was coming. He first mentioned if after the Selection Show, then re-iterated that when he saw Tennessee’s name pop up, he wondered to himself “Will it be Texas or will it be Clemson?” Barnes coached at Providence and Clemson before heading to Texas in 1998.

Barnes has been past the Sweet Sixteen several times throughout his career, but never at Tennessee. But this year, these Vols seem different. Dalton Knecht is a superstar on offense, Tennessee has retained its suffocating defense and the guard play has been as strong as it’s been under Barnes’ tenure.

That last point starts with Zakai Zeigler, who is the engine of the Vols. Just a year ago, Zeigler tore his ACL in the final games of the regular season. He rehabilitated very quickly and has come out firing on all cylinders this season. His defense and ability as a true floor general make him one of the top point guards in the nation.

Barnes was asked about Zeigler’s role in Tennessee’s success this season on Friday. He insisted that it starts with his mental and works from there:

“If you watch how he went through his rehabilitation from a year ago to get his knee right, it tells you a lot about him too because he thought he could play two months before they let him play,” Barnes insisted, via 247 “It’s just his mental makeup. It’s infectious. I think it’s rubbed off on some guys.”

Barnes continued…

“Again, he’s meant more to this program than people can even imagine because talking about the little things in the locker room and all that. I think, when he walks in the locker room, he’s the same every day. One of the great things about him is he is consistent. I’ve never seen him in a bad mood other than when he gets mad at himself. I’ve learned to tweak him a little bit to where he’ll get mad at me. But I love the guy. I don’t know what it will be like now not having him because he’s been such an important part of our team.”

Zeigler dropped an 11-poin, 10-assist double-double last night during the Vols’ 83-49 win over the Peacocks, also adding a pair of rebounds and a steal in 31 minutes of play.

His defense especially will be a major key to Tennessee’s success tomorrow against the Longhorns, who have seen strong guard play from Max Abmas and Tyrese Hunter this season. Currently Tennessee is favored -6.5 on DraftKings.

The Vols and Longhorns will face off at 8 p.m. ET on CBS on Saturday.