The Zakai Zeigler Mentality Has Brushed Off On This Tennessee Team, As They Prepare For Michigan

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INDIANAPOLIS -- It will be a dogfight inside the paint for No. 3 seed Tennessee and 11-seed Michigan tonight (5:50 p.m. Eastern), with both teams mustering their own type of offensive strategy. But how these teams play on defense will determine the outcome of this game, not just from a fundamental standpoint. Tonight's game feels like it will be one of those backyard brawls you see on YouTube.

But in the case of Tennessee, they'll be able to continue feeding off the mentality of Zakai Zeigler during every moment he's on the court. There's something about the scrappy freshman that makes his teammates want to play harder. Maybe it's the non-stop movement around the ball or the force he plays with on defense, but it has brushed off on his teammates and Rick Barnes couldn't be any happier.


















































































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Those sunglasses, postgame in Tampa.




























































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Trey Wallace is the host of The Trey Wallace Podcast that focuses on a mixture of sports, culture, entertainment along with his perspective on everything from College Football to the College World Series. Wallace has been covering college sports for 15 years, starting off while attending the University of South Alabama. He’s broken some of the biggest college stories including the Florida football "Credit Card Scandal" along with the firing of Jim McElwin and Kevin Sumlin. Wallace also broke one of the biggest stories in college football in 2020 around the NCAA investigation into recruiting violations against Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Wallace also appears on radio across seven different states breaking down that latest news in college sports.