Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht led the best way for his staff in its 92-84 win over Auburn on Wednesday evening, placing the Vols in command of the SEC and conserving them in play for a No. 1 seed within the NCAA Event.
The Northern Colorado switch tied a career-high with 39 factors within the win for Related 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 started to separate themselves.
Over the ultimate 12 minutes, Knecht outscored No. 11 Auburn (21-7, 10-5) by 4, 25-21, and completed 12-of-21 from the sector, together with 5-of-8 from deep and 10-of-12 from the foul line.
His shot chart from Wednesday evening reveals how harmful he was in any respect three ranges: from past the arc, midrange and attacking the paint.
In 15 SEC video games, Knecht is averaging 25.3 factors, making him the probably convention participant of the yr.
The Vols entered Wednesday No. 5 in NET rankings and a projected 2-seed within the NCAA Event, in accordance with Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology, up to date on Feb. 27.
The win towards Auburn marks the primary of 4 consecutive Quad 1 video games for Tennesee, which improved to 6-5 towards groups in that quadrant this season. That provides Tennessee a golden alternative to maneuver as much as a 1-seed by Choice Sunday on March 17.
The Volunteers subsequent play at No. 14 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 in SEC) on Saturday, adopted by one other highway sport — at No. 18 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 in SEC) — and the common season finale at dwelling towards No. 16 Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 in SEC).
