While the city of Knoxville sits underneath a half foot of snow, Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht brought the heat to Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center on Tuesday night.
Knecht continued his impressive stretch of games with a 39-point showing against the Gators to achieve a new career high. Knecht’s previous career high, 37 points, was set against North Carolina in Chapel Hill earlier in the season.
Knecht is the sixth player in Tennessee program history to drop at least 35 points in at least three games joining Bernard King (11), Ernie Grunfeld (8), Allan Houston (6), Tony White (4), and Dale Ellis (3).
Dalton Knecht found the basket in a number of different ways on Tuesday against the Gators. The former Northern Colorado transfer dropped 39 points on 13-of-23 shooting with 12 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting to go along with a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Knecht was aggressive, confident, and even had a bit of swagger on the court.
“That was pretty impressive,” head coach Rick Barnes said after the game with a grin.
Knecht’s showing against the Gators was the third game in a string of impressive contests for the 6-foot-6 senior guard. Knecht dropped 28 points last Wednesday at Mississippi State and followed that up with 36 points against Georgia in Athens last weekend. All in all, Knecht’s 103 total points over the last three games are the most points in a three-game stretch by a Tennessee player and tied for the most points by a Rick Barnes-coached player in a three-game stretch alongside Kevin Durant.
“It’s just playing with confidence out there,” Knecht said after the game. “I’ve had stretches where I’ve done that but it’s a lot easier with my teammates out there every single day in practice as well as the games, just making it super easy for me. Also just getting into the right spot, the coaching staff putting me there, and just playing with confidence and a lot of hard work.”
More from RTI: Breaking Down Some Jaw-Dropping Statistics Behind Dalton Knecht’s Scoring Streak
Twenty-two of Knecht’s total points came in the first half of play as he set the tone for the game. It wasn’t hard to tell when the switch flipped for Knecht, either. The senior guard scored 20 of Tennessee’s final 22 points in the half as he was starting to get hot inside the arena despite the freezing temperatures outside.
The reigning SEC Player of the Week, Dalton Knecht, has established himself as one of the most dangerous offensive players in the conference as Tennessee continues their way through SEC play. Knecht and the No. 6 Vols (13-4, 3-1 SEC) will be back at home this Saturday afternoon for a game against Alabama (12-5, 4-0 SEC) at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Oh… can’t forget the eight rebounds, of course.
Rick cooked him fr pic.twitter.com/sOkfR5rtlV
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) January 17, 2024
