3/17/2024 basketball Edit

Tennessee's Zakai Zeigler to face brother in opening round of March Madness

Nov 6, 2023; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Seton Hall Pirates center Jaden Bediako (15) battles for a rebound against St. Peter's Peacocks guard Armoni Zeigler (5) during the first half at Prudential Center. (Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

Ryan Sylvia • VolReport

Assistant Managing Editor

Born in Knoxville, Tenn. and a graduate of the University of Tennesee, Knoxville. Covering football, basketball, baseball and recruiting for VolReport.

There will be a battle of brothers in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee basketball's Zakai Zeigler will be squaring off with his younger brother, Armoni Zeigler of Saint Peter's in the Round of 64.

The Vols' guard is the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-SEC member while Armoni Zeigler is in his freshman year.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

The Peacocks' guard may be the younger brother, but Armoni Zeigler is bigger than size. While Zakai Zeigler stands at 5-foot-9, his freshman brother is listed at 6-foot-4.

Currently in his freshman season, Armoni Zeigler is averaging 6.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has appeared in 32 matches while starting in a stretch of 10-of-11 in the middle of the year.

While averaging 19 minutes per game on the floor, he has a career-high of 14 points against Quinnipiac. He is shooting 39.1% from the field and 35.4% on 3-pointers.

"The funniest thing is we kind of knew from before it could've been an option that we're playing Saint Peter's," said Zakai Zeigler's teammate Santiago Vescovi. "We were talking about it earlier. I told him, I was like 'You're going to have to guard your brother.' He was like, 'No, you got him. He's 6-5.' We love it. I think it's going to be a great moment for both of them. It's a really game they're both going to enjoy playing against each other. You don't get to see that very often. His reaction, like everybody just started yelling in the locker room. He got on his phone right away probably with him. Very fun moment."

Older brother Zakai Zeigler is a junior for Tennessee and the starting point guard. Currently, he is averaging 11.9 points per game on 40.4% shooting from the field and 35.2% on 3-pointers.

He also owns averages of 5.2 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per match.

The matchup between the brothers will take place on March 21 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tip-off time is set for 9:20 p.m. ET on TNT.

Winner moves onto the Round of 32 against either 7-seed Texas or 10-seeds Virginia and Colorado State.

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @TylerIvens, @RealTBannerman, @ShayneP_Media.

–––––