Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht led the way for his team in its 92-84 win over Auburn on Wednesday night, putting the Vols in control of the SEC and keeping them in play for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Northern Colorado transfer tied a career-high with 39 points in the win for Associated Press No. 4 Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 in SEC).
His emphatic dunk with 5:51 left gave the Volunteers a 79-75 lead as they began to separate themselves.
LEFT EM BEHIND
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 29, 2024
ESPN2
https://t.co/cFoqm7OcpP pic.twitter.com/ZzM2nxHyUw
Over the final 12 minutes, Knecht outscored No. 11 Auburn (21-7, 10-5) by four, 25-21, and finished 12-of-21 from the field, including 5-of-8 from deep and 10-of-12 from the foul line.
His shot chart from Wednesday night shows how dangerous he was at all three levels: from beyond the arc, midrange and attacking the paint.
Dalton Knecht put on a clinic in Tennessee's win over Auburn.
— CBB Analytics (@CBBAnalytics) February 29, 2024
39 PTS / 7-13 2PM / 5-8 3PM
A special night for a special player. pic.twitter.com/9AB6l5liW7
In 15 SEC games, Knecht is averaging 25.3 points, making him the likely conference player of the year.
The Vols entered Wednesday No. 5 in NET rankings and a projected 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to Joe Lunardi's Bracketology, updated on Feb. 27.
The win against Auburn marks the first of four consecutive Quad 1 games for Tennesee, which improved to 6-5 against teams in that quadrant this season. That gives Tennessee a golden opportunity to move up to a 1-seed by Selection Sunday on March 17.
The Volunteers next play at No. 14 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 in SEC) on Saturday, followed by another road game — at No. 18 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 in SEC) — and the regular season finale at home against No. 16 Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 in SEC).
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