Zakai Zeigler has become an assist machine at Tennessee, and in the big win over Ole Miss on Saturday, Zeigler set a new program record.

The milestone came during a night in which Zeigler scored 17 points to go along with a season- and game-best 10 assists and a season-high 5 rebounds. He committed only 2 turnovers in 37 minutes and went 4-of-11 from 3.

Zeigler is the first player ever to record 6 points/assists double-doubles for the Vols, and that broke a tie with Rodney Woods (1972-75) atop the career leaderboard, according to Tennessee. Saturday was the 6th time Zeigler has registered double-digit assists in his career — he scored 11-plus points in all of them — and the first since Feb. 25, 2023, against South Carolina.

What’s more, Zeigler has connected on at least 4 attempts on 3-pointers in 3 of the last 4 games — he is 13-of-34 (42.4%) from deep during that stretch — after previously doing so twice in his first 75 appearances.

Coach Rick Barnes also praised his guard for Zeigler’s improvement on ball screens.

The Vols return to action in their SEC road opener on Wednesday night at Mississippi State from Humphrey Coliseum.

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.