Tennessee basketball star Zakai Zeigler missed the Vols’ Thursday practice after suffering a knee injury in Tennessee’s 78-73 loss against Kentucky on Tuesday night.
Zeigler drove hard to the basket and fell to the ground while drawing contact and a foul late in the first half on the Kentucky game. He quickly popped up and speedily limped straight past the Tennessee bench and all the way up the tunnel towards the Vols’ locker room.
The senior point guard came back and played the entirety of the second half on Tuesday but didn’t look quite full speed and was not picking up the ball for 94-feet on defense like he normally does.
Tennessee didn’t have practice on Wednesday and Zeigler did not practice on Thursday according to Barnes. It’s uncertain what Zeigler’s practice status for Friday will be at the time of publication but practice is open to the media.
“He did not practice yesterday,” Barnes said. “I just walked in the building and haven’t heard where he’s at. My gut feel is, knowing him, that he’ll be ready to play.”
More From RTI: Tennessee Announces Upcoming Renovations To Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
Tennessee’s 10th-year head coach said that Zeigler missing Thursday’s practice was “not at all” concerning as the Vols prepare to face No. 5 Florida on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.
Zeigler is Tennessee’s most important player and is averaging 12.3 points, 7.4 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 34 minutes a game so far this season. The veteran point guard’s shot has struggled this season as he’s shot a career-worst 27.8% from three-point range and 36.1% from the field.
If Zeigler is unable to go against the Gators, senior shooting guard Jordan Gainey and freshman point guard Bishop Boswell will pick up the slack for the injured senior.
Tennessee releases its initial injury report for its rematch against Florida at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday night. Stay tuned to RockyTopInsider.com to see Zeigler’s status or any other injury details of note.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Florida is at noon ET on Saturday afternoon. Tom Hart and Dane Bradshaw are on the call for ESPN.