As the team's leading scorer, SEC Player of the Year and unanimous All-American Dalton Knecht has gotten the bulk of national attention from Tennessee basketball's strong season.

However, opposing coaches are often quick to give props to point guard Zakai Zeigler as the secret behind the Vols' success. He was ultimately voted SEC Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference for his regular season efforts.

Although he didn't shoot well in Tennessee's win over Texas in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament, Longhorns coach Rodney Terry gave credit to who he dubbed 'the little dude.'

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"Dalton is a big-time player," said Terry. "The head of the snake is the little dude. The little dude causes a lot of problems out there."

What makes Zeigler special in the eyes of Terry is how important he is to what the Vols want to do on both ends of the floor.

On defense, he is the first defender opposing ball handlers meet as he typically picks up either the length of the floor or at half court. This makes it tough for teams to get into their offense without burning valuable time off the shot clock beforehand.

"He's all over the place defensively," said Terry. "He's Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC. He's causing all kind of havoc on that end of the floor."

On offense, he is capable of creating his own shots and ones for others. While maintaining control deep inside the defense, it opens up things for Knecht and other offensive pieces.

"Then you throw in that he can get into the teeth of the defense and get something for himself or create for a teammate," said Terry. "Dalton's had a special year, but he probably didn't have that special year if it weren't for the little guy who can get into the teeth of the defense and create scoring opportunities for him. He's the head of the snake. He's a really terrific player and one that we had a lot of respect for."

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Zeigler doesn't give opposing teams any break, either. In the win over Texas to send the Vols to consecutive Sweet 16s, he played all 40 minutes and never appeared to take a play off.

In these situations, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes simply defers to Zeigler on if he needs to catch his breathe and take a short rest on the bench.

The answer is almost always no.

Barnes is comfortable in leaving Zeigler on the floor for these long stretches because he's seen it work out for him before. Not only during games, but also in the form of his work ethic during practice.

When Barnes posed the question to Zeigler in the second half of the Texas game, the 5-foot-9 point guard gave him a look that teammate Josiah-Jordan James described as crazy. For the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, there was no question he was good to play.

"He's just a superhero," said James. "We wouldn't be in this position without his leadership, his aggressiveness. He's the engine that ignites us. We thrive off of him. For him to play 40 minutes in a situation like this, I don't think he'd want to have it any other way. That's just a testament to how tough he is."

Zeigler will have a little less than a week to recover from back-to-back March Madness games. He played 31 minutes in the opening win over Saint Peter's before the bench was cleared in the blow-out.

He'll be asked to play a critical role in stopping a Creighton offense that features a pair of guards that average over 17 points per game. Along with Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander, the Bluejays have a 7-foot-1 center in Ryan Kalkbrenner who also sits above the 17-point mark.

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