Florida left Knoxville with frostbite on Tuesday night while the Vols found heat inside Thompson Boling Arena at the Food City Center.
No. 6 Tennessee handily defeated Florida by a score of 85-66 behind an astounding 39 points from veteran guard Dalton Knecht. The former transfer dropped his new career high on 13-of-23 shooting, 4-of-6 three-point shooting, and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
The Vols’ win on Tuesday night propels them to a 3-1 conference record and a 13-4 overall record.
Tennessee took the lead right out of the gate and never let Florida have it for the entirety of the game. Jonas Aidoo continued his big game against Georgia early on while Knecht scored 20 of Tennessee’s final 22 points in the first half of play.
Tennessee’s defense made life miserable for the Gators all game long with Florida finishing at just 29.4 percent from the floor and 22.7 percent from three during the game. The Vols also finished the contest with six blocks and nine steals.
After the conclusion of the game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media over Zoom to discuss his reaction to the victory. Barnes spoke about Knecht’s impressive scoring streak, Aidoo’s contributions on both ends of the court, JP Estrella’s breakout game, and much more.
Tennessee also had Knecht speak with the media following his career-high scoring performance.
More from RTI: Three Quick Takeaways as Knecht, Aidoo Lead Tennessee Past Florida
Check out both interviews from Tennessee’s 85-66 win over Florida in Knoxville on Tuesday night below. The Vols will return to the court in Knoxville this Saturday afternoon for a home game against Alabama at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
Tennessee G Dalton Knecht
RTI Instant Reaction
