Dalton Knecht scored a career high 39 points as the Tennessee Volunteers secured a 85-66 win over the Florida Gators.
Knecht would bring his scoring streak back to the Food City Centre, adding tonight’s total to the 36 and 28 he scored against Georgia and Mississippi state last week which saw him named SEC player of the week.
Knecht 39 points were the 9th highest total in UT programme history, just missing out on becoming the first Vols player to score 40 since 2019.
Despite the comfortable lead, the arena was still rapturous in the finals two minutes as the home fans willed Knecht to reach the 40-point mark. However, a pair of missed threes late in the 4th quarter would have the home fans going home slightly disappointed.
The matchup was played out in a half-filled Food City Center as many fans struggled to get to the area due to heavy snowfall yesterday.
Despite being ten-point favourites coming into the game, The Vols started slowly and were only holding a four-point margin at the seven-minute mark. Jonas Aidoo was the only Tennessee player in the opening exchanges who was locked in, picking up eight points and four rebounds in the early minutes.
The Vols quiet start was likely due to Knecht only contributing two points to their total in the opening quarter of the game.
The momentum of the opening period switched with seven minutes left in the half. Knecht made a put back dunk which had the home crowd on their feet and they would not sit back down for the remainder of the period.
For the final minutes Knecht was unplayable in the paint and from three-point range. Finishing the half with 22 points on splits of 8/9 from the field and 3/3 from beyond the arch.
The Vols finished the half with a 44-32 lead. Too many fouls in the paint inhibited them opening a larger lead and allowed the Gators to stay within sight. Florida had shot poorly from the floor (10-34) but had shot well from the line (9-11).
Aidoo came out with a quick six points in the early minutes of the second half, beginning the second half as he had begun the first. He would finish off a good night with19 points, off an efficient 9-16 shooting.
Tyrese Samuel struggled to struggled to knock him off his rhythm all night, whilst Aidoo was doing a good job on Samuel at the other end of the court, limiting him to 2-8.
The Vols continued to give away lots of shooting fouls in the second period which again inhibited them from opening a wider points margin.
Knecht again had a quiet start to the half, not making a basket until 9th minute of the second period. His shooting form from the floor did not match that from the first half, shooting only 4/12 from the floor. But his perfect 6/6 from the stripe, coupled with the rest of the team’s good form from the line allowed Tennessee to see the game out.
The result sees Tennessee improve to 13-4 in the SEC whilst continuing their unbeaten run at home, they are now 9-0 at the Food City Center this season. Florida dropped to 9-6 after the loss.