Despite Tennessee basketball having two of the four fianlists for the Naismith Men’s College Defensive Player of the Year, neither Jahmai Mashack nor Zakai Zeigler won.
Instead Creighton forward Ryan Kalkbrenner took home the award.
Houston forward Joseph Tugler was the other finalist.
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Mashack's impressive senior year
Mashack put together a memorable senior year spearheaded by his defense. He started in all 38 games this season while guarding every position on the floor.
Typically going up against the opposition's best player, Mashack recorded 64 steals and 20 blocks in his senior season. Both of these were career highs. He also came down with a career-best 4.2 rebounds per game.
On offense, Mashack averaged six points a contest on 45.4% shooting from the field and 35.1% on 3-pointers. He also passed for 1.5 assists per night.
The highlight of the season came on a near-half court shot at the buzzer to beat Alabama.
Zeigler ends career with another SEC DPOY
Zeigler finished his Tennessee career by taking home back-to-back SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. This time, it came on 1.9 steals per game as he matched up with some of the best point guards in the country.
On offense, Zeigler pitched in 13.6 points per game and 7.4 assists. He played in 37 games, starting all, while missing just one match.
Zeigler was named to multiple All-American teams for his terrific senior season.
Comparing resumes
JAHMAI MASHACK
- 1.7 steals
- 0.5 blocks
- 3.7 STL%
- 2.4 BLK%
- 2.3 Defensive Win Shares
- 7.0 Defensive Box Plus/Minus (No. 1 in SEC)
ZAKAI ZEIGLER
- 1.9 steals
- 0.2 blocks
- 3.4 STL%
- 0.9 BLK%
- 2.3 DWS
- 4.5 DBPM
RYAN KALKBRENNER
- 0.5 stl
- 2.7 blk
- 0.9 STL%
- 7.3 BLK%
- 2.4 DWS
- 4.4 DBPM
JOSEPH TUGLER
Before Final Four
- 0.9 stl
- 1.9 blk
- 2.7 STL%
- 12.5 BLK% (No. 1 in Big12)
- 2.6 DWS
- 7.4 DBPM (No. 1 in NCAA)
Prior award winners
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