Tennessee basketball star Dalton Knecht is a game time decision for the Vols’ Tuesday night matchup against George Mason, CBS’ Jon Rothstein first reported on Monday morning. A Tennessee spokesperson confirmed that Knecht is day-to-day with the ankle injury he suffered in the Vols’ loss at North Carolina.
“Well, he’s progressing,” Barnes said on Monday afternoon. “I think we’ll know more tomorrow. But he moving around, doing what we’ve asked him to do, and he tells me he feels okay. But we’ll see. Again, I just think it’s a day by day right now.”
Barnes rejected the idea that Tennessee could hold a healthy Knecht out against George Mason to make sure he avoids injury before Saturday’s game against No. 20 Illinois.
“No, it depends on him,” Barnes said. “I mean, if he wants to play, if he’s capable— we’ll hold him out if we don’t think he’s ready. But players like that they want to play and we’ll leave it up at what (trainer) Chad (Newman) and he thinks, but, again,we’ll know more after practice today.”
Knecht suffered a left ankle injury in the final minutes of Tennessee’s ACC/SEC Challenge matchup against North Carolina. The injury ended a memorable performance that saw Knecht tie the record for points scored by an opposing scorer at the Dean E. Smith Center.
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The super senior wing scored 37 points on a remarkable 13-of-17 shooting from the field. If Knecht hadn’t suffered the ankle injury which ended his night, he would have shot two free throws needing just one to break the record.
Knecht has been the Vols’ best offensive player to this point in the season, averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and two assists per game. The Northern Colorado transfer has totaled 15+ points in six games this season and 20+ points twice this season.
After a six-game stretch that saw Tennessee face five big six teams and four top 15 KenPom teams — two in true road games— the Vols’ schedule is starting to slow down a bit. Tennessee hosts Illinois in a marquee matchup on Saturday but plays on two big six teams in its final six non conference games.
But before Tennessee faces Illinois, the Vols host George Mason at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Tuesday night. Tipoff between Tennessee and George Mason is at 6:30 p.m. ET. SEC Network+ and ESPN+ are streaming the game.
