Gators Torched by Dalton Knecht, Fall to Vols 85-66
Florida (11-6, 1-3 SEC) had no answer for Tennessee's Dalton Knecht on Tuesday evening.
As he has consistently in his lone season with the Volunteers, Knecht proved to be the most dynamic scorer on the floor against the Gators, posting 39 points on 13-for-22 from the field, including a 20-point outburst in the final seven minutes of the first half.
His career-high scoring onslaught aided Rick Barnes' Tennessee squad to post its 13th win of the year, 85-66, while maintaining an undefeated record inside Thompson-Boling Arena during the 2023-24 campaign.
And, as it often does in college basketball, it came in spurts.
Despite their slow shooting start, the Gators remained within striking distance to potentially contest the Volunteers closely into the second half.
Then, Knecht started to connect.
He displayed his multi-faceted, professional-caliber scoring prowess at an uber-high level, fighting inside for shots at the bucket and midrange jumpers, including a bank finish through contact over Florida's Riley Kugel. Knecht added three makes from beyond the arc in the first half to his resume to post the Vols final 20 points of the period in just under seven minutes.
The effort catalyzed a 60% shooting performance from UT throughout the half. Florida, meanwhile, failed to eclipse 30%, knocking down just 10 of its 34 attempts (29.4%).
Tennessee took a 12-point lead into the halftime break.
Florida maintained its sluggish offensive form to begin the second half, seeing just one of its first six shot attempts find the bottom of the net to start. It allowed the Volunteers to expand their lead to as many as 20 with 15:36 remaining. Forward Jonas Aidoo found vast success inside against UF's frontcourt during the stretch.
But, as the contest seemingly reached a point of no return, the Gators started to climb back in thanks to a newfound aggressiveness attacking the rim.
It resulted in several trips to the charity stripe. Florida converted on the opportunities, reeling off a 12-2 run to cut the lead to ten.
Walter Clayton Jr., Riley Kugel and Zyon Pullin were notable contributors during the spurt. The Gators shrunk the deficit to ten thanks to an And-1 finish by Tyrese Samuel — opening the door slightly to a potential comeback for Golden and Co.
However, Tennessee didn't allow Florida to move any closer.
Knecht and Aidoo took over once again, eliciting a 12-0 run over 4:46 from that stage to put the nail in UF's coffin. The duo combined for 58 points en route to the 19-point margin of victory.
The Volunteers shot 51.7% on the day with 17 assists on made baskets, compared to just a 29.9% mark and seven assists by Florida.
The Gators will remain on the road on Saturday in Columbia, Mo., aiming to win their first true away game of the season against the Missouri Tigers (8-8, 0-3 SEC).
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