Knecht Chosen as SEC Co-Player of the Week

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Dalton Knecht of the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is the SEC Co-Player of the Week, alongside Alabama senior guard Mark Sears, as announced Monday afternoon by the league office.

A fifth-year guard from Thornton, Colo., Knecht has now claimed two SEC Player of the Week distinctions in his first year at Tennessee. He previously won the season’s inaugural award Nov. 13.

Knecht is the first single-season, multiple-time winner from Tennessee since Grant Williams claimed the accolade thrice in 2018-19. His recognition is the 17th for a Volunteer in Rick Barnes‘ tenure and he is the third in that time with multiple recognitions, alongside Williams (four) and Admiral Schofield (three).

Last week, Knecht averaged 32.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game across a pair of SEC road games. He shot 22-of-38 (57.9 percent) from the floor, 9-of-17 (52.8 percent) on 3-pointers and 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) at the stripe.

In his first conference road contest, Knecht put up a game-best 28 points Wednesday at Mississippi State. In the second half alone, he notched 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Saturday at Georgia, Knecht poured in a game-leading 36 points, one shy of his career high, on 12-of-20 shooting, including a 5-of-8 clip from long range. He tallied 20 points in the second half, including 10 in the final 5:39, to help the Volunteers rally to victory after trailing by 11 in the final 6:10.

Knecht’s 36 points marked the second-most by an SEC player this year, trailing only the 37 he recorded Nov. 29, 2023, at No. 17/16 North Carolina. His 64 points tied for the fourth-most in a two-game span by an SEC player in the last seven seasons (2017-24) and he became the second SEC player in the last four years (2020-24) to post a two-game stretch with 28-plus points in each and an average of at least 32.0 per game, alongside LSU’s K.J. Williams in February 2023.

Additionally, Knecht became the first Volunteer with 25-plus points in back-to-back games since Admiral Schofield in December 2018, the first to do so in back-to-back conference games since Kevin Punter Jr., in January 2016 and the first to do so in back-to-back games with both on the road since Chris Lofton in February 2006.

Knecht, who has played just four road games at Tennessee, is now one of four Volunteers with multiple 35-point road performances in a career, joining Allan Houston, Bernard King and Grant Williams. He is also the first SEC…