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Playing against his little brother Armoni, Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler scored 11 points and dished out 10 assists Thursday as the Volunteers made quick work of St. Peter’s in the first round of NCAA basketball’s March Madness tournament.
Zakai Zeigler, a 5-foot-9 junior who grew up in Brentwood and Wyandanch and commuted to New Jersey to play high school ball at Immaculate Conception, has No. 6 Tennessee (25-8) primed for a deep run in the tournament.
The Volunteers, seeded second in the Midwest Region, crushed No. 15 seed St. Peter’s, 83-49, with SEC Defensive Player of the Year Zakai Zeigler spearheading Tennessee’s stingy defensive effort in Charlotte.
Armoni Zeigler, a 6-foot-5 freshman, heads back to St. Peter’s Jersey City campus with 16 minutes of tournament experience — though no points — under his belt.
Following the game, there was clearly no love lost between the Zeiglers, brothers who share the same father and who grew up together — and played a ton of basketball — on Long Island. The two players smiled broadly at each other and embraced on the court.
Zakai Zeigler is averaging 11.9 points per game this season and leads Tennessee in assists. He is one of the most physical defenders in the nation at the guard position and is an elite playmaker on the offensive end.
Armoni Zeigler averaged 6.4 points per game in his rookie college season.
About midway through the first half, the Zeiglers were both on the court, playing against each other in “a real game” for the first time.
Tennessee plays seventh-seeded Texas in the next round on Saturday.
Top photo: Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler guards his younger brother Armoni of St. Peter’s (X/@ByMikeWilson).
