Watch Zakai Zeigler deliver special message to Vols Nation after taking down Vandy

It sure wasn’t easy on Saturday for the Tennessee Volunteers basketball team against Vanderbilt, but in the end, the No. 5 team in the country was able to come away with a clutch 81-76 win. Down double digits in the first half, it sure looked like Vandy was going to post a season sweep vs. UT.

However, Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler had other ideas. In the second half, Zeigler went OFF. That’s right, the star point guard posted 22 points after the halftime break to power his team to victory. Shortly after the final whistle, an ecstatic Zeigler sent a great message to the fans who showed the team love from start to finish in the close contest:

Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier powered Tennessee to a close win over Vandy

Talk about coming up big for your team. Zeigler was 0-for-2 from the floor in the first half, going scoreless. That’s not the kind of effort you’d expect from a player of his caliber. Vanderbilt was up 44-31 at half too, which made things worse.

Coming out of the locker room, though, Zeigler knew that he had to step his game up and he did just that, drilling shot after shot. He simply couldn’t be stopped. Luckily for Rick Barnes, Lanier also delivered when his number was called, as he finished with 21 points.

Suffering yet another loss to the Commodores would have been a disaster for Tennessee, especially after losing to No. 15 Kentucky earlier in the week. That nightmare was avoided, with Zeigler doing everything in his power to make sure his side posted the W.

The Vols will be off during the week, but then come this Saturday, a huge showdown is on the way on the road against No. 8 Texas A&M. A battle of two ranked teams? Yup, it’s going to be yet another close matchup for the Vols.

Zeigler will need to be at his best for this squad to come out on top. When he’s at his best on both ends of the floor, no one can argue that the veteran is one of the best point guards in the country. That will need to be on display against the Aggies.