Tennessee
Inside the numbers of Dalton Knecht’s road stardom for Tennessee basketball
ATHENS, Ga. − Two Georgia fans hovered in the hallway underneath Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday swiping at their phones.
They had to know more about Dalton Knecht.
That’s the experience when Tennessee basketball comes to a college city with the senior who bewilders with his offensive brilliance. Knecht had these two Bulldogs fans searching to know if he was a senior or not, surely with hopes they’d never see him again in the aftermath of a 36-point barrage.
It was the latest and arguably the greatest road game for Knecht, who couldn’t guess his road scoring average afterward.
“About 80,” estimated teammate Jonas Aidoo after some quick finger math.
Not quite, but it almost feels like it after the Northern Colorado transfer inflicted his will as No. 5 Tennessee (12-4, 2-1 SEC) earned an 85-79 win against Georgia (12-4, 2-1). He is averaging 31.3 points per game in four road games.
Why Dalton Knecht excels in road games for Tennessee basketball
Knecht had a look about him Saturday to Vols coach Rick Barnes. It was a look “where you can just tell he has got a little bounce about him,” Barnes said.
Barnes has seen it before. He witnessed it in Tennessee’s exhibition win at Michigan State when Knecht scored 28 points. He has been so good on the road that his scoring in East Lansing would bring down his average if included in his stats.
“He likes the moment. He does,” Barnes said.
That might be understated. Knecht seems to crave the stage, coveting the opportunity to silence if not crush an opposing crowd.
“You just always as a kid want to grow up and play in those type of environments,” Knecht said. “I think all of us have. I think all of us are always ready to perform in front of those crowds.”
Knecht has 125 points on 70 shots in four road games. He is shooting 48.3% on 3-pointers and 61.4% from the field on the road.
He scored 24 points for Tennessee at Wisconsin on Nov. 10. He had 37 points at North Carolina on Nov. 29, tying. the record for most points scored by a visiting player at UNC. He had 28 at Mississippi State on Jan 10.
“He is one of those guys that puts the time in and when he gets going, he is a confident player,” Barnes said.
Dalton Knecht saves his best for the second half on the road
Knecht and assistant coach Rod Clark identified a flaw in the Georgia defense’s ball-screen coverage Saturday.
Knecht hurtled a dagger into the flaw with 1:56 to play when he saw two Georgia confused defenders go under a screen and he hit a lead-taking 3-pointer. That accounted for three of his 10 points in the final 5:39 and of his 20 in the second half.
“Just going to hoop and be myself,” Knecht said. “Big props to my teammates for getting me in the right spot and making it easier for me − as well as the coaches for putting me in the right spots.”
KD: Why Rick Barnes compared Tennessee basketball’s Dalton Knecht to Kevin Durant
Knecht is averaging 19.5 points in the second half on the road. He had 26 at MSU after halftime and 20 in the second half at UNC.
On Saturday, he scored for the Vols each time Georgia took a double-digit lead. In the end, he was bringing the ball up the court often and dictating the game. He made 3-pointers and midrange jumpers. He got fouled and created opportunities. He was the reason Tennessee staved off a two-loss week.
“Just go downhill and make the right play,” Knecht said. “Coach just said get the ball and make the right play or find your teammates or get downhill and get a layup or get to the free-throw line.”
Maybe it is that simple for Knecht. He has conquered every visiting arena he has walked into. He earned an ovation at UNC when he was injured in the final minutes, recognition of his greatness from a basketball fan base well-versed in it.
Maybe it’s all about what Barnes believes: Knecht does the work in the quiet hours at Pratt Pavilion and that’s why he’s ready.
Whatever it is, Tennessee’s trip to Nashville to play Vanderbilt on Jan. 27 is another chance to find out.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
Entering a three-game series at Kentucky, it appeared as if Tennessee baseball’s offense had turned a corner.
After scoring at least six runs in all but two of their last nine SEC games, there was reason to believe the inconsistencies that had previously plagued the Vols’ offense had been remedied.
But in their first two games at Kentucky (29-15, 11-12 SEC), both lopsided losses, those offensive woes returned at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington. Tennessee (30-17, 10-13) has managed just four total runs in the series, dropping the first matchup on May 1, 9-2, and Game 2 on May 2 in eight innings, 12-2.
As it prepares for the series finale on May 3 (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network+), UT finds itself needing an offensive spark to avoid being swept.
“A lot went wrong again,” first-year UT coach Josh Elander said on May 2. “Not a good approach by our guys, swinging at too many pitches out of the strike zone. Good stuff by (Kentucky starter Jaxon Jelkin) today, but we didn’t get out of the gates. … Not a good formula in any capacity today.”
Tennessee has had to play from behind in both games
Slow starts have become a dangerous habit for the Vols through two games against the Wildcats. Their two runs in the series opener didn’t arrive until Henry Ford hit a home run in the eighth inning, the team by then already down 9-0.
They generated a few opportunities before but weren’t able to cash in on three separate chances with a runner in scoring position — once seeing a potential Jay Abernathy RBI single prevented by a full-extension diving catch in shallow left field.
In the second game, Tennessee didn’t manage a baserunner off Jelkin until the fifth and were caught trying to make up an early deficit again. During a mid-game flurry that saw the deficit lessened to 4-2 by a Blaine Brown home run, Tennessee worked the tying run to the plate in the sixth with the heart of the order up.
That was the closest they would get; the next nine batters went down in order and Kentucky pounced on the Vols’ bullpen to run-rule them.
Postseason stakes put extra importance on series finale
In Tennessee’s first 12 SEC matchups, it averaged 5.7 runs per game, contributing to a 4-8 start in league play. But in the nine following conference games, beginning with a sweep of Mississippi State, that number jumped to 7.3 runs per game and included two series wins, boosting the Vols’ SEC record to 10-11. That stretch removed doubt from their NCAA Tournament resume and put them in position to earn a bye in the single-elimination conference tournament.
Now, Tennessee enters the series finale needing a result before facing No. 4 Texas next week – which owns arguably the most feared pitching staff in the SEC.
“At this point, there needs to be more sense of urgency and a little bit more pride,” Elander said. “Very, very frustrating day all the way around, especially after the performance last night. We have to come into tomorrow and basically throw this game in the trash and reset and be ready to go and salvage the weekend tomorrow.”
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: emmett.siegel@knoxnews.com; X: @EmmettSiegel_
Tennessee is recruiting toward its 2027 football signing class.
Three-star defensive back Carter Jamison committed to Tennessee, according to Chad Simmons of On3.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound prospect is from Creekside High School in Fairburn, Georgia. Former Vols Eric Berry, Evan Berry and Elliott Berry are also from Creekside.
247Sports ranks Jamison as the No. 101 safety in the class and No. 115 player in Georgia.
Tennessee was the first school to offer him a scholarship on Feb. 17. The 2027 prospect unofficially visited the Vols for a spring practice on April 2 and will officially visit Tennessee on June 19.
Other schools to offer Jamison scholarships include USF, Charlotte, UNLV, Western Michigan, Liberty, Colorado State, Eastern Kentucky and East Carolina.
Tennessee has six other commitments in its 2027 football recruiting class: linebacker JP Peace, offensive tackle Princeton Uwaifo, defensive lineman Kadin Fife, quarterback Derrick Baker, athlete Jaden Butler and wide receiver KeSean Bowman.
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At the behest of President Donald Trump, Tennessee’s Republican supermajority is returning to Nashville next week to redraw the state’s congressional maps, carving Memphis into multiple safe-Republican seats.
The session is made possible by the Supreme Court’s decision ending protections in the Voting Rights Act, made April 29.
Gov. Bill Lee issued a call for a special legislative session to approve new redistricting maps on the evening of May 1, one day after Trump announced on social media that Lee had promised to do so.
Lawmakers will return to Nashville on May 5.
“We owe it to Tennesseans to ensure our congressional districts accurately reflect the will of Tennessee voters,” Lee said.“After consultation with the Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, I believe the General Assembly has a responsibility to review the map and ensure it remains fair, legal, and defensible.”
Once in Nashville, the Republican supermajority legislature will have the votes to crack Memphis and draw nine new safe-Republican congressional seats in Tennessee and eliminate the last remaining Democrat-held seat.
Candidates are already campaigning in the 9th Congressional District — which will likely be redrawn during the special session. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, and state Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, have both gathered and filed qualifying signatures and have been actively campaigning.
Redrawing maps would suspend those campaigns and require candidates in every congressional district to gather new signatures and re-qualify for their races.
“Donald Trump wants an extra seat. And he wants to get it by directing how the districts are drawn and to say they should not be drawn as they are now — they should be drawn the way he wants to draw them to give him the vote,” Cohen said on May 1.
“Civil rights are being attacked through this Supreme Court case. It’s taking away potentially a goodly half of African American and African American-chosen representation in the United States Congress,” Cohen said, pledging to launch a legal fight.
Lee’s call came hours after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey called a special session to redraw the maps there, as predominantly Republican Southern states begin to take political advantage of the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back protections for Black voters in the Voting Rights Act.
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