Tennessee star Zakai Zeigler exits Kentucky game with injury scare
Yesterday at 08:11 PM
One of the biggest college basketball showdowns of the week is going down on Tuesday night as Kentucky is looking to pick up a huge conference win on the road against Tennessee. Mark Pope and the Wildcats got off to a good start in the first half in Knoxville, but Tennessee battled back to take a 33-30 lead at halftime.
Despite the comeback, things aren’t all looking up for Rick Barnes and the Volunteers. Near the end of the first half, star guard Zakai Zeigler came up limping after suffering an apparent knee injury and immediately hobbled off the floor.
Just after the first half ended, Barnes expressed his concern during his interview with ESPN’s Molly McGrath while walking off the floor.
“For him to run off the court it worries me because I've never seen him do that,” Barnes said. “I would expect him to bounce right back up but it's something for him to do that. I'm worried about it, really.”
However, Tennessee quickly got good news about its leader. Zeigler is dealing with a right knee injury but is planning on coming back in the second half according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
“Zakai Zeigler has suffered a right knee injury, but will warm up for the second half with the intent to return, per a school spokesman,” Rothstein reported on X, formerly Twitter.
The fact that it is a right knee injury is good news for Tennessee after Zeigler missed the end of the 2022-23 season and part of the 2023-24 season with a torn ACL in his left knee. The fact that it’s not the same knee is a very good sign for the Volunteers.
Zeigler isn’t having his best night from the floor so far, shooting 1-for-8 with just two points while missing all four of his three-pointers, but he is still a crucial piece of this Tennessee team. For the season, Zeigler is the Volunteers’ second-leading scorer with 12.3 points per game and is also one of the best playmakers in the nation, averaging 7.5 assists a night.
The post Tennessee star Zakai Zeigler exits Kentucky game with injury scare appeared first on ClutchPoints.
