Tennessee Dynamo point guard Zakai Ziegler tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season, according to the official Tennessee Volunteers Twitter account.
On Tuesday, Ziegler went down early in the first half of Tennessee’s win over Arkansas. Unfortunately, this adds to the litany of injuries that have plagued Tennessee’s 2022-2023 campaign. Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi, Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key have all missed multiple games this season. Despite this, Tennessee remains an analytical giant, possessing the top four ratings in Kenpom, T-Rank, and Haslametrics.
A Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, Ziegler averaged 10.7 points, 5.4 assists and 2 steals per game. Replacing Ziegler’s production will require a lot of work, as he has the highest usage rate on the team. Who steps up?
Bishops of Santiago
Vescovi has been Tennessee’s best player this season. He is the team’s top scorer and has been elite at both ends. The shooting guard will continue to carry a substantial part of the offense on his shoulders. Vescovi must continue to be efficient for this offense. With the depth in the frontcourt, Vescovi should be able to provide the outside scoring that Tennessee will lack.
Jahmai Mashack
Praised for his immense defensive ability, Mashack will be trusted to take some responsibility for point creation. While he isn’t renowned for his shooting ability, Mashack is a competent passer and rebounding guard. Since he lost to Vanderbilt, Mashack has seen his minutes increase tremendously. His length and his defensive stopping ability will be critical to Tennessee’s long-term success.
tyreke key
Having missed the last two games, Tyreke Key is expected to return to play at Auburn on Saturday. While he’s not your quintessential lead guard, Key possesses enough offensive creativity to recapture some offensive chops lost in Ziegler’s absence. However, Key has had a brutal season shooting basketball at a reasonably high volume. For a team with national championship hopes, the Vols have little room to take a significant step back on offense. While not quite like a three-point Curry, Ziegler was a high-volume 3-point shooter and ranked 15th in the SEC in 3-pointers made per game, in addition to his elite playmaking ability.
According to BetOnline, Tennessee has +1800 to win the national championship and +400 to reach the Final Four.
