“This trade must be the worst.” The NBA delivers terrible news to a Tennessee star at the most inconvenient moment.
Rick Barnes delivered some sad news regarding Zakai Zeigler, as the Tennessee coach told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that the talented guard will miss Saturday’s battle with Florida due to a knee injury.
The injury Thamel mentioned happened when Zeigler’s knee seemed to lock up after he drove in for a layup with 2:17 left in the first half. When the play was called for a foul, Zeigler got up right away and limped off the court in the direction of the locker room.
Despite Tennessee fans’ immediate worst fears, Zeigler started the second half and finished the game. ESPN’s Molly McGrath provided further details on Zeigler’s injury during the broadcast, and it sounded promising at the time. “Zeigler was manually evaluated by Tennessee’s medical staff. It was determined he didn’t need any X-rays,” McGrath said. “They did not fear any structural damage. When he ran out of the tunnel to warm up, the entire arena had some relieved cheers.”
Unfortunately for Ziegler, he wasn’t able to give Volunteers fans much else to cheer about on Tuesday. In the loss, Zeigler shot 5-18 from the field and a poor 1-11 from beyond the arc. Without Zeigler on the court, it won’t be an easy showdown for Tennessee on Saturday. No. 5 Florida has won three games in a row and is one of the hottest teams in the country. Most recently, the Gators showed off their dominance in an 89-59 win over Georgia.
