Knecht scores 39 to lead Volunteers over Gators in men’s basketball

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Dalton Knecht scored a career-high 39 points and had eight rebounds to lead No. 6 Tennessee past Florida 85-66 on Tuesday.

Jonas Aidoo had 19 points and a team-high 10 rebounds to help the Volunteers (13-4, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) win their 12th consecutive home game.

“Anytime Jonas is aggressive and locked in, he’s a major factor,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “The guys are starting to understand each other, where they need the ball.”

Knecht averaged 32 points in two games last week as he captured SEC Co-Player of the Week honors.

“I’m just playing with confidence,” Knecht said. “It’s a lot easier with my teammates. It’s a lot of hard work. My teammates make it super easy.”

Knecht shot 13-of-23 overall, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, and made all nine of his free throws.

“He’s been doing that to everybody,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “He did a lot in transition and broken plays. We weren’t good enough to protect the rim.”

The Gators (11-6, 1-3), who haven’t won in Knoxville since 2014, were led by Walter Clayton Jr. with 16 points and Riley Kugel with 12. Tyrese Samuel had 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Zyon Pullin scored 11.

“I thought we got our opportunities at the rim,” Golden said. “We didn’t match their physicality. (The Vols) play with an edge at home.”

Florida was limited to 29% shooting from the field (20 of 68).

“They’re an outstanding offensive team,” Barnes said of the Gators. “They’re one of the fastest teams in the country. When you hold a team to 29%, you’re doing a good job.”

Knecht hit 9 of 10 field goals — including three 3-pointers — and scored 22 points in the first half as Tennessee jumped to a 44-32 halftime lead. A 12-3 run midway through the half gave the Vols some breathing room. Kugel had 10 to lead the Gators in the half.

“We’re just feeding off the crowd,” Knecht said. “It starts with our defense: Make a stop and score.”

Florida could not make up the deficit.

“You don’t want to fall behind against this team,” Golden said. “They’re very disciplined. They’re not going to make mistakes.”

The game started two hours early because of dangerous weather conditions.

The takeaway

Florida: The loss to Tennessee started a stretch of tough games for the Gators. They will play what figures to be four more Quadrant 1 games, considered in the NCAA Evaluation Tool, over the next two weeks. Florida is 0-5 this season in Q1 games and 2-19 over the past two seasons.

Tennessee: The Vols are giving up eight more points a game (66.0-57.9) compared to last season, but they are scoring eight more points a game (78.7-70.8). The focus for Barnes has been consistency. The Vols have struggled with that all season and it continues to haunt them at times.

Up next

Florida: The Gators have another road game Saturday night against Missouri.

Tennessee: The Vols will remain at home Saturday for a battle with Alabama.