New week, new honors for Tennessee basketball guard Dalton Knecht who continued his red-hot streak with a pair of stout performances in the Vols’ wins over Florida and Alabama last week. Knecht’s performances earned him Naismith National Player of the Week and SEC Player of the Week honors.
In two Tennessee wins, Knecht averaged 32 points and six rebounds. The Northern Colorado transfer exploded for 39 points and eight rebounds in the Vols’ win over Florida including an absurd final 7:05 of the first half that saw Knecht score 20 of Tennessee’s final 22 points of the half.
The Northern Colorado native totaled 17 first half points against Alabama before slowing down in the second half and finishing the game with a quiet 25 points in a Tennessee blowout victory. Alabama coach Nate Oats emphasized that Knecht would have scored even more if the Crimson Tide had made a game out of it.
“(Dalton) Knecht’s been killing everybody and he probably would’ve had 35 if this would’ve been a close game,” Oats said. “They would’ve been going to him a lot more. In fact, he had 25, most of the second half don’t count, let his foot off the gas … he’s had some second halves where he just had explosions here lately. So we held him below what he’s been averaging the last three games. We didn’t do a very good job on him either. He killed us when it mattered.”
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Knecht’s performances earned him SEC Player of the Week honors for the third time this season and the second time in as many weeks. The 6-foot-6 wing became just the fourth Tennessee player to earn SEC Player of the Week honors four times in one season, joining Grant Williams (2018-19), Chris Lofton (2005-06 and 2006-07) and Dyron Nixon (1988-89).
The talented wing scorer becomes the first SEC player to earn the weekly honor in back-to-back weeks since Kentucky’s Immanuel Quickley did it during the 2019-22 season. Knecht is the first Tennessee player to win consecutive SEC Player of the Week honors since Admiral Schofield in 2018-19.
Knecht is looking to continue to strong play on Saturday after Tennessee’s midweek open date. The Vols head to Nashville on Saturday where they’ll face instate rival Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium.
