Vols lean on maturity in response to Zakai Zeigler injury

As the seconds ticked by, the situation became more grave from Rick Barnes' vantage point on the sideline.

The Tennessee head coach knew the longer that point guard Zakai Zeigler laid on the floor, the more serious his injury was.

It all started harmlessly enough. The Vols had the ball and were looking to build on an early seven-point lead against Arkansas Tuesday night. Zeigler—Tennessee's emotional and productive jump-starter—suddenly fell to the court, clinging to his left knee and in obvious pain.

He was eventually helped off by team trainers, but he didn't return. The prognosis postgame was a knee injury. A spokesperson for the program said they'll know more on Wednesday, but during the timeout in the immediate aftermath, the Vols' focus had to shift.

Tennessee recovered well, getting strong performances out of senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua as well as guards Santiago Vescovi, Jahmai Mashack and Josiah-Jordan James that paved the way for an important 75-57 win over the Razorbacks at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“We all hurt for Zakai,” Barnes said. “We all know that he’s hurt. For him to stay down, he’s hurt. I think we all felt that but yet the maturity of our senior class, I think, took over the game in terms of ‘this is what we got and this is what we’re going to go do.'"

It was an appropriate setting for the Vols to lean on its veteran leadership with some of them possibly playing their final game in Knoxville. That decision will come at a later time. For now, it's about basketball.

A win keeps Tennessee (22-8, 11-6 SEC) within reach of a No. 4 seed and a double-bye in the SEC Tournament in Nashville next week.

"I guess I kind of felt the fact that it was my last game in (Thompson-Boling Arena)," Nkamhoua said. "To be honest with you, we still got a long way to go. I'm not done yet. That's kind of the only thing that's been on my mind."

While Tennessee is guaranteed at least three more games, including its regular season finale at Auburn on Saturday, Nkamhoua played like he wanted his season to continue even further.

He scored a game-high 16 points and finished second in rebounding with seven. His presence was just as important as his performance as the team had to adjust to Zeigler's sudden absence on the fly, particularly at point guard.

Tennessee had three different players bring the ball up the floor and run the offense in Vescovi, James and Mashack.

Before Tuesday, Mashack hadn't played the position in a live game since high school while James has played it sparingly since his freshman season.

They got by. So did Tennessee.

“They were working (Vescovi). They were working him pretty much all night long, really trying to take away his left hand and putting pressure on him,” Barnes said. “He got himself in a little bit of trouble a few times, but I thought Jahmai Mashack handled the ball, Josiah, all those guys. We’ve talked about that, 'when those guys get the ball, let’s not put so much pressure on one guy to handle it. Let’s bring it down the court and get started.'

"We knew we had to continue to move because if you get stagnant against Arkansas–they’re already difficult to play against–but if you get stagnant they’re really difficult to play against. I thought our movement was good.”

Arkansas couldn't take advantage of not having to defend or be defended by Zeigler. the Vols didn't give the Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9) the chance to, leading wire-to-wire and never allowing them to pull within less than eight points in the second half.

It's wasn't an unfamiliar position for Tennessee, which has been delt its share of crushing blows on the injury front, losing James for stretches at a time with various ailments as well as freshman Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key.

Even in losses, this Vols team has managed to play around that and give itself a chance against anyone.

"Really proud of them," Barnes said. "We've dealt with a lot of adversity this month, we really have. We thought we were really rolling and then things come up. I think because of that, I said it last game and the game before, this team has shown a lot of resiliency. They really have. I don’t think at any point in time they’ve stopped believing. Whatever guys we have available, they’re going to find a way to grind it out.

"…Every guy that played tonight did a terrific job. That frontline, they did exactly what we needed them to do.”

If Tennessee has to play without Zeigler going forward, there is justified confidence it can handle it.

In fact, confidence is something the Vols have never lacked, not even during a February stretch where they lost five of seven games. It is as prevalent as ever as the calendar turns to March.

"Regardless of what we've been through, that's the confidence I've had with this team since day one," Nkamhoua said. "Nothing has made me waver in that. I've believed in what we can do as a unit since we started this year. We have guys that know how to fight through adversity. We have guys that have fought through adversity.

"...We have guys that can do everything that we need to make it happen, to make something shake."

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