Tennessee basketball’s starting backcourt of Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier are chasing a trio of program records with five games remaining in the Vols’ regular season.
Lanier is chasing Chris Lofton’s single-season three pointers made record. Lofton holds the top three spots on the Vols’ single-season three-point record book with his 118 made triples during the 2007-08 season currently holding the record spot.
With five regular season games remaining, Lanier has made 86 three-pointers this season making him 33 triples shy of breaking Lofton’s record. Tennessee is guaranteed seven more games this season, its five regular season games and at least one game in both the SEC and NCAA Tournament. If the Vols only play those seven remaining games then Lanier has to make 4.5 three-pointers a game to break the record. But if Tennessee wins only two games combined in those tournaments, he has to make just 3.5 three-pointers a game to break the record.
Through 13 SEC games, Lanier is averaging 2.7 made triples a game. He was averaging more made three-pointers per game in non conference play but inconsistency has plagued Lanier in SEC play. Lanier is just 14 three-pointers away from being the third ever Tennessee player to make 100 made three pointers in a single season along with Lofton and Santiago Vescovi.
While Lanier chases down Tennessee basketball’s single-season three-point record, Zakai Zeigler is chasing both Tennessee’s single-season and career assist record.
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Zeigler has totaled 187 assists so far this season and is 41 assists away from breaking Rodney Woods’ single-season assist record in 1974-75. With the Vols’ minimum seven games remaining, Zeigler needs to average 5.7 assists per game to break the record. If they play nine more games, that mark drops all the way to 4.4 assists per game.
But Zeigler’s chase of the career assist record is a little more difficult. He currently sits at 659 assists and is 57 assists away from breaking Johnny Darden’s 715 assists from 1975-79. In the seven remaining games, Zeigler would have to average eight assists per game to break the record. In nine games, Zeigler would have to average 6.2 assists per game to break the Volunteer career record.
Tennessee’s starting point guard is averaging 7.5 assists per game this season, making it a near lock that he’ll break the season assist record.
Darden currently ranks third in SEC history in career-assists with Arkansas’ Kareem Reid and Ole Miss’ Sean Tuohy ahead of him. It’s all but impossible for Zeigler to break the SEC career record. Even if Tennessee were to make the SEC Tournament Championship and the National Championship, Zeigler would have to average 12.2 assists per game to break the record.
Lanier and Zeigler resume their push for Tennessee’s program records on Saturday when the Vols face No. 7 Texas A&M in College Station.
