Zakai Zeigler exits Arkansas game with apparent knee injury

Tennessee’s spark plug point guard had a short night against Arkansas on Tuesday, going down early with an injury. Zeigler suffered a non-contact injury on the baseline, quickly hitting the floor and clearly in pain.

Zeigler remained on the floor for a couple of minutes with the pain very obvious on his face as he grabbed his leg. He was eventually helped up and assisted off the floor.

You hate to speculate, but things didn’t look good.

Zeigler means a ton to this team. He’s the instigator for the offense — a guy that simply cannot be replaced. Tennessee has had some awkward point guard depth this year, using Tyreke Key and Santiago Vescovi in spots. True freshman BJ Edwards has found some minutes in recent weeks, thanks to injuries. He more than like just found some more.

Zeigler is averaging 11 points and 5.5 assists per game this year. With tournament time looming, this would obviously be a tough spot for Rick Barnes.

We’ll pass along any updates that come our way.

UPDATE: Zeigler has been ruled out for the night, per ESPN’s Marty Smith.