Sad News: Vols Basketball Star Man Dalton Knecht Explain Why He Will Leave

Tennessee basketball star guard Dalton Knecht was named a unanimous All-American by The Sporting News on Tuesday morning.

Tennessee basketball’s Dalton Knecht was named a unanimous All-American by The Sporting News on Tuesday morning. Purdue’s Zach Edey was the only player other than Knecht unanimously voted as a first-team honoree by the publication’s panel.

Knecht averaged 21.4 points per game, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in his lone regular season with the Vols after transferring from Northern Colorado. He shot 47.4% from the floor and 40.5% from behind the three-point line.

Tennessee’s star guard was named SEC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches on Monday to become the 10th Volunteer to win the award and the first to do so since Grant Williams was honored in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019.

The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 25.5 points during SEC play, which is the second-best in the league over the last 22 seasons. It was the highest scoring average of any Division 1 player this season and the best mark of any Power Six player in league play since 2019-20.

Knecht recorded one 40-point game this season among seven by a Power Six player, three 39-point games (first nationally), five 35-point games (first nationally) and seven 30-point games (third nationally). He owns five of the top nine single-game point totals by an SEC player, was the first player with back-to-back 35-point games since LSU’s Shaquille O’Neal (Feb. 1991), was the first player with six straight 25-point games since South Carolina’s Devan Downey (Jan./Feb. 2010) and the second player in the last 14 seasons with at least five 35-point games and/or seven 30-point games, joining Arkansas’ Mason Jones.

Tennessee’s breakout star was phenomenal away from Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center throughout the regular season, averaging 24.8 points on 50.8% shooting from the field and 43.0% shooting from three. Knecht scored at least 13 points in all 11 true road games. He scored 22 points in eight of those games and at least 32 in three of them.

The Thornton, Colo. native joined Ernie Grunfield as the only other Vol with five 35-point games in a season. Knecht is the first Vol with four 35-point games in SEC play in a season. His 40 points against Kentucky in the regular-season finale were the most by a Vol in regulation since 1990.

Knecht helped lead Tennessee to its 11th SEC regular season championship in program history, including its sixth outright and the its since 2007-08. UT also secured its first ever lone No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament since the conference tournament returned from a 26-year hiatus in 1979.

Tennessee has reached the SEC Tournament final in three of the past five seasons, finishing as the runner-up in 2018 and 2019 before winning it in 2022.

Knecht and the Vols will be back in action on Friday in the quarterfinals of the field against No. 8-seed LSU or No.9-seed Mississippi State. Tipoff from Bridgestone Arena — the home of the Nashville Predators — in Nashville, Tenn. is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Lady Bulldogs denied return to NCAA Tournament; will host Ga. Tech in WBIT

Their watch-and-wait week a year ago ended well for the Lady Bulldogs. This time the wait went unrewarded.

Mississippi State fell short of a return trip to the NCAA Tournament as the Bulldogs did not receive an at-large bid.

Sunday’s evening selection show settled the question when Mississippi State was not listed in the 68-team field. Coach Sam Purcell and team had hopes a 21-11 overall record and 8-8 mark in SEC regular season play would make a strong enough case.

UPDATE: The season is not over, though. Mississippi State has accepted a berth in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, and will host Georgia Tech in a first-round game this Thursday evening in Humphrey Coliseum.

But as for the national championship tournament, after a lackluster effort in the SEC Tournament the Bulldogs were left squirming on the proverbial bubble for ten days. As the selections scrolled across screens that bubble popped with State on the wrong side.

It was just barely on the wrong side, if bracketologist’s figuring squares with the selection committee thinking. ESPN had Mississippi State the very first left out; CBS one notch further back. There is no consolation in coming close though, and certainly not so in this season’s frustrating case.

At one point, specifically a week into February, the Bulldogs appeared to be on their way not just to selection but a healthy seeding too. They were 20-5 overall and 7-3 SEC, and reached #27 in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Purcell even was cautioning his club about looking ahead to tournament time.