Tennessee 75, Arkansas 57


Tennessee dominated Arkansas on senior night, but obviously that's not the story. "Non-contact knee injury" are the scariest words in sports, and I'm sure we all had flashbacks to Hendon Hooker's knee when we saw Zakai Ziegler hit the floor. With news coming down this afternoon that it's an ACL tear, prayers for ZZ that his recovery is quick and complete. 

Thankfully, Tennessee found ways to replicate ZZ's production on the court Tuesday night. Olivier Nkamhoua and Tobe Awaka both poured in more points than average, while Santiago Vescovi and Jahmai Mashack each nearly doubled their typical assist production. Santi had an excellent game all around, but it was Mashack who seemed to change his style overall to make up for Zakai's absence. Mashack created plays by driving to the rim, and it will be interesting to see if he continues to develop that part of his game, similar to a bigger guard like Josh Richardson. 

There's also the possibility of BJ Edwards stepping into a larger role. Rick Barnes said in the post-game presser that Edwards has "improved tremendously here in the last month." We'll see the first iteration of Tennessee's plan to make up for Zeigler's absence Saturday in the season finale at Auburn. 

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