Tennessee Basketball watches Dalton Knecht, Lakers after arriving in Indianapolis
The Tennessee Basketball team took advantage of good timing Wednesday.
After arriving in Indianapolis for the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in the afternoon, the Vols were at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Wednesday night to watch Dalton Knecht and the Los Angeles Lakers against the Indiana Pacers.
ESPN cameras showed Tennessee players and coaches together in a suite during the game watching Knecht, the former one-and-done transfer star at Tennessee who was the 17th overall pick in the NBA Draft last June.
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Kentucky, Friday, Sweet 16
Tennessee (29-7), the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, will play No. 3 Kentucky (24-11) in the Sweet 16 on Friday (7:39 p.m. Eastern Time, TBS/TruTV) at Lucas Oil Stadium. The winner will advance to Sunday’s Elite Eight against either No. 1 Houston or No. 4 Purdue.
Knecht led Tennessee to the Elite Eight last season — just the program’s second Elite Eight appearance — to put an exclamation mark on his season, which included consensus First Team All-American and SEC Player of the Year honors.
The Northern Colorado transfer averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 30.6 minutes per game, shooting 45.8% from the floor and 39.7% from the 3-point line.
Dalton Knecht this season: 9.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 20.4 minutes per game
Knecht is averaging 9.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists in the first 68 games of his rookie season with the Lakers, after being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
He was at the center of one of the biggest storylines at the NBA trade deadline in February, when he was shipped to the Charlotte Hornets in a deal for Los Angeles to acquire center Mark Williams.
The Lakers were in the market for a center after trading Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic in a blockbuster move. The trade for Williams was rescinded days later after he failed a physical.
Knecht made his on-court return with the Lakers on February 12 in a road loss to the Utah Jazz, scoring 10 points in 17 minutes off the bench.
Vols beat Creighton in Sweet 16 last season
Tennessee beat Creighton in the Sweet 16 last season behind 26 points from Knecht. He set a Tennessee record for scoring in an NCAA Tournament game with 37 points in the Elite Eight loss to Purdue, while also matching a program record with six 3-pointers in the game.
The Vols get a much more familiar opponent in the third round this time, with Kentucky have already won the two regular-season matchups in the annual rivalry.
“I’ve always thought about it (as) just the next game,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said before practice Wednesday morning. “And it’s been a month or so since we last played Kentucky. I think it’d be different if it was a week ago, maybe in the (SEC) Tournament, a week and a half ago. But it is what it is.
“And this time of year, it doesn’t matter. You’re playing right now, obviously, you’re on a pretty good roll. I’m sure guys are excited, confident. So whether it’s Kentucky or whoever, you’ve just got to be ready to play.”
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