Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler, the Southeastern Conference leader in assists, went down with a leg injury less than three minutes into the Volunteers’ game in Knoxville, Tenn., against Arkansas on Tuesday night and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

Zeigler, a sophomore who entered Tuesday averaging 11 points and 5.5 assists for the No. 12 team in the nation, went to the floor without making contact with anyone and grabbed his left knee. A pair of Tennessee staffers helped Zeigler off the court and into the trainer’s room, as the 20-year-old was unable to put any weight on his left leg.

While the Volunteers offered no update to Zeigler’s injury after their 75-57 win, coach Rick Barnes told the media said his team suspected the injury was bad as soon as it happened.

“They know that he pops right back every single time when he goes down,” Barnes said of Zeigler’ teammates. “I think they knew it was serious.”

“He is such an unbelievable, wonderful person,” Barnes added. “We all hurt for Zakai. … For him to stay down, he is hurt. I think we all felt that.”

Zeigler has started only half of Tennessee’s 30 games, but he leads the team in minutes played. The Volunteers 22-8 overall and 11-6 in the Southeastern Conference, fourth in the conference standings.

Zeigler’s impact has been just as strong on the defensive end, as he has the third-most steals in the SEC (59). Earlier in the day Tuesday, the Atlanta Tipoff Club named him one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award.

The 5-foot-9 guard was named to the SEC’s All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams last season. On Saturday, Zeigler tied Tennessee’s career record for points-assists double-doubles with five.

–Field Level Media