Dalton Knecht has been at his best in Tennessee's big road games

Dalton Knecht was that close to history. Tennessee’s star transfer wing was sitting on 37 points when he drove the lane and was fouled with 1:39 left in the second half against North Carolina Wednesday at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill. 

He was a sprained ankle away — the one that left him crumpled on the floor, having to be helped off without putting any weight on his left leg — from going to the free-throw line with a chance to break the all-time record for points scored by an opposing player at the Dean Dome. 

Instead, Jonas Aidoo went to the free-throw line in place of the injured Knecht, who had to settle for a tie with La Salle’s Lionel Simmons, who scored 37 against the Tar Heels in January 1988.

“He was hot,” Tennessee fifth-year wing Josiah-Jordan James said of Knecht, “and if he gets going, that’s the type of games he can have.”

The type game Knecht had in the ACC-SEC Challenge at North Carolina wasn’t much different than what he had done in Tennessee’s other big road games, though.

In three true road games against Power 5 competition — the exhibition win at Michigan State on October 29, the win at Wisconsin on November 10 and this week’s trip to Carolina — Knecht has combined for 89 points on just 48 shots. 

Dalton Knecht through seven games: 20.3 points per game, 50.5% FG, 40.5% 3FG, 31.1 minutes per game

His 37 points at North Carolina came on 13-for-17 shooting from the floor. He made a season-high four 3-pointers and went 7-for-8 at the foul line. He scored 22 in the second half alone, making 8 of 9 shots.

“You felt like he made those threes from our out-of-bounds situations,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the game, “and you could tell he was starting to get going.”

Knecht had 24 points in the 80-70 win at Wisconsin, going 8-for-15 from the floor, 1-for-4 from the 3-point line and 7-for-9 at the foul line.

He had 28 at Michigan State in his unofficial debut, going 8-for-16 from the floor, 3-for-9 from the 3-point line and 9-for-11 at the foul line. 

Knecht’s three-game stat line: 29-for-48 on field goals, 8-for-21 on 3-pointers and 23-for-28 on free throws. 

Tennessee’s second-leading scorers in the same three games — Jordan Gainey at Michigan State and James at Wisconsin and North Carolina — combined for 58 points on 29 shots.

Knecht is now one of just three Tennessee players to score 37 or more points in a game in the least 33 years, with Grant Williams, who did it twice, and Ron Slay. He tied Allan Houston for second-most points scored by a Tennessee player in a road game. 

“I’ve said it before,” Barnes said Wednesday night, “I think Dalton is a guy that can really score.”

Up Next: No. 10 Tennessee vs. George Mason, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+

What did look different in the second half at North Carolina Wednesday was Knecht bringing the ball up the court, working the Tar Heel defense on ball screens at the top of the key and looking for paths to the rim between defenders. 

“It depends on who he’s guarding,” Barnes said. “If he’s guarding a guy that’s maybe a little bit quicker, you wouldn’t do that. We could dribble hand-off with him and getting that way and they started doubling. 

“We were playing a little pitch-and-get game with him. He made some really good plays … I’ve been around and you get to know your players.”

James said it’s just something else for opposing defenses to think about, with Knecht having the ball in another spot on the floor.

“I mean, you gotta guard him after half court,” James said. “He’s a three-level scorer and we tried to get (Armando) Bacot caught up in ball screens. We didn’t think that they could guard us out of those ball screens. 

“Dalton’s just a dynamic player. He made great shots, but he also made great reads, hitting Jonas (Aidoo) on the short roll, hitting Cade (Phillips) on the short roll, and we were able to find open shots because of that.”