Survive and advance?
Tennessee rewrote the story on Thursday night to the tune of ‘dominate and advance.’
2-seed Tennessee took down 15-seed Saint Peter’s in a Midwest Region first-round matchup on Thursday night by a score of 83-49. Tennessee burst out of the gates to the tune of 27-7 after just 12 minutes on the court and only allowed 20 points from Peacocks in the first half. The Vols had a size advantage down low and Jonas Aidoo took advantage of it on both ends of the court.
Aidoo finished the game with 15 points and six rebounds with 13 of his total coming in the first 10 minutes of the game. While Aidoo may not have added to his scoring total throughout the game, the Vols’ starter was crucial in building an overwhelming lead before the third timeout of the game.
Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler added another chapter to his remarkable comeback season with a points-assists double-double against the Peacocks. Zeigler was sharp on Thursday night in his playmaking and offensive distribution, recording 11 points and 10 assists on the night.
“It’s a really good feeling, but I’ve got to thank my teammates because I wouldn’t be able to do it without them making shots. So I’ve got to really shout out to them… Oh, yeah, and Coach Barnes,” Zeigler said about his double-double after the game with a laugh, as Rick Barnes sat just a couple of feet away from him.
More from RTI: Tennessee Basketball Obliterates Saint Peter’s To Advance
Zeigler and Aidoo spoke with the media following Tennessee’s big win over Saint Peter’s below:
Tennessee G Zakai Zeigler and F Jonas Aidoo
Q. Zakai, how good did it feel to be out there? I imagine you’ve been waiting two years for this night.
ZAKAI ZEIGLER: Yeah, I feel pretty good. The job’s still not finished, though. We’ve still got to handle Texas, but it’s a good feeling to be back out there.
Q. Zakai, do you feel like it was important to have a win like this where you kind of leave no doubt to get back on track heading into this round?
ZAKAI ZEIGLER: Yeah, I feel like we had to get our toughness back. Tonight I feel like we did from the jump. The entire game, we kept our foot on their necks.
St. Peter’s is a really good team. They’re a really tough team. So we had to match their toughness and just play like that for the entire game.
Q. Jonas, you had a couple of shots fall early in the game. How important was that for you to build that confidence early on?
JONAS AIDOO: For me, it was staying aggressive at all times. Coach preached that to me a lot, so I was just really staying aggressive with that.
Q. Jonas, sort of a similar question. I know you all always want to play inside out, but when you see the sort of size advantage that you had, did you just kind of really think like, okay, I really need to be aggressive early in this game?
JONAS AIDOO: Of course. Like I said before, Coach has been preaching that, and we’ve been working on that a lot in practice too. So just doing what we do in practice into the game.
Q. Zakai, anything stand out about Texas? I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to look at them at all or see their previous game.
ZAKAI ZEIGLER: Texas, they’re a good team. We’ve still got to come out strong. We’ve still got to be ourselves and be a tough team.
Q. Zakai, I saw a stat that you’re the first Tennessee player with a points-assists double-double in the tournament. I believe it said 50 years from ESPN. What goes through your mind when you hear that, and what does it mean to you to be part of history for the Vols in the tournament?
ZAKAI ZEIGLER: It’s a really good feeling, but I’ve got to thank my teammates because I wouldn’t be able to do it without them making shots. So I’ve got to really shout out to them.
Oh, yeah, and Coach Barnes.
