Zakai Zeigler Returns to Action in Vols Season Opening Win Over Tennessee Tech

(utsports.com) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team earned an 80-42 wire-to-wire victory over Tennessee Tech to begin the 2023-24 season Monday night at the Food City Center.

No. 9/10 Tennessee (1-0) led for all but the first 27 seconds in a dominant performance on both ends of the floor. Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht, in his official team debut, scored a game-high 17 points in the victory.

The Volunteers held Tennessee Tech (0-1) without a point for the opening four-and-a-half minutes, forcing misses on the visitors’ first five shots. Tennessee’s stingy defense continued, as it allowed just a 1-of-11 clip through eight-and-a-half minutes and built a 9-2 lead.

Aided by seven straight points from Knecht, Tennessee went on a 14-0 run in just 4:07 to take a 23-6 edge with 5:52 on the clock. Following a jump-shot by the Golden Eagles, Tennessee scored 10 points in a row, making it a 24-2 extended surge in 7:24, to go up 33-8 with 2:35 left in the session.

In total, the Volunteers scored 32 of the final 38 points of the frame and took a 41-12 advantage into the locker room. They shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) overall, including 46.7 percent (7-of-15) beyond the arc, while holding the Golden Eagles to 16.0 percent (4-of-25) and 20.0 percent (1-of-5) marks, respectively. The 12 points by Tennessee Tech marked the fewest by a Tennessee foe in a half since the 2018-19 season opener.

The Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the second half to trim the deficit to 26, but never got any closer the rest of the way. Tennessee even pushed its margin as high as a game-best 40 points in the closing minute of the contest.

The Volunteers went on to win by 38, their largest margin of victory since Feb. 25, 2023, versus South Carolina (40). It also marked their second straight season-opening triumph by exactly 38 points, as they earned a 90-62 win over UT Martin on Nov. 9, 2022, to begin last year’s campaign.

Knecht, who scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half, shot 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line in the win. Fellow transfer guard Jordan Gainey, a junior, tallied 14 points in the win.

Fifth-year guard Josiah-Jordan James posted 12 points, shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range to tie a career high in makes. The Charleston, S.C., native added seven rebounds and a game-best three steals for the Volunteers.

Additionally, Zakai Zeigler led all players with five assists in just 12 minutes in his return to action. The junior guard last played on Feb. 28, 2023, against Arkansas in last season’s home finale before suffering a torn left ACL just three minutes into the contest, an injury that kept him out for the final six-plus contests of the season, as well as Tennessee’s summer tour to Italy and its two recent exhibition contests.

Just one Golden Eagle reached double digits in the scoring column, as sophomore guard Josiah Davis paced the team with 13 points.

Tennessee ended the night a perfect 10-of-10 at the stripe, its first time making double-digit free throws without a miss since Nov. 26, 2021, also against the Golden Eagles. The Volunteers, who had a 21-5 edge in assists and a 36-3 margin in bench points, also shot 40.0 percent (12-of-30) from beyond the arc.

Defensively, Tennessee limited Tennessee Tech to a 27.5 percent (14-of-51) clip from the field and a 16.7 percent (2-of-12) ledger beyond the arc. It also posted eight blocks while the Golden Eagles had none.

The Volunteers begin their 2023-24 road slate Friday at 9 p.m. ET in Madison, Wis., where they take on Wisconsin at the Kohl Center, live on Peacock.