LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tennessee basketball has a new assist leader. The most assists throughout a career in program history have been dished out by Zakai Zeigler.

The senior point guard now has 726 assists after passing for 12 in a 77-62 win over Wofford in the Round of 64 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

This tops the mark set by Johnny Darden who recorded 715 in his career that spanned from 1976-79.

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Darden was in Rupp Arena, where the Vols beat the Terriers, for the record-breaking game and was able to congratulate the new record holder in person.

"It was a big blessing," Zeigler said. "We knew that was going to be there. We watched a lot of film. I gotta give a lot to my coaches and my teammates, just seeing an open guy and not trying to force too much. Breaking a record that was 50 years old is a really big blessing and it means a lot to me."

On the night, Zeigler was able to record a double-double.

This came on 12 points to go along with his dozen assists. A lot of these buckets, whether passed or assisted, are earned by taking advantage of screens set by his bigs.

This includes Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips who are often the ones benefitting from their picks.

"(Okpara) does do a good job and tonight he started getting back to running to the rim like the way he did earlier," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "Those screens, and again, those are so important. But tonight we were able to get some lobs to him. Because I thought he really got more aggressive getting off the screen and letting -- when we put Chaz out there on one wing and Jordan (Gainey), it's hard to tag anywhere.

"And then when Jahmai (Mashack) was out there, then he started setting some really good fade screens where Igor (Milicic Jr.) hit a three out of it, so kept trying to put him into a tough situation there. And if we can get Felix running to the rim, those are the post baskets we need. He and Cade were a big force tonight, both of 'em, I thought."

While Zeigler has officially entered the top three in assists in SEC history by topping Darden, propelling himself any further may be a tough ask. In second place, Kareem Reid out of Arkansas (1996-99) recorded 748.

This would mean Zeigler needs 22 assists to tie the mark. If the Vols can make a deep run, it's certainly on the table. Any early losses would have him fall short.

In first place in conference history, Sean Tuohy out of Ole Miss (1979-82) has a seemingly untouchable record of 830. This places Zeigler 104 assists behind the No. 1 spot.

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