Dalton Knecht Might Help Change the Vols History in the Big Dance

March 20, 2024

Rick Nyman,

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Tennessee Volunteers have a history of underachieving in the NCAA Tournament under coach Rick Barnes.

The second-seeded Vols hope All-American Dalton Knecht can help change that.

For the first time in recent memory, the Vols have a big-time scorer to go to in crunch time in Knecht, a 6-foot-6 wing who comes into March Madness averaging 21.1 points per game and shooting 40% from beyond the arc.

“Obviously he would be a No. 1 target for a team getting ready to play us,” Barnes said. “… We need him to do what he does, but we need his teammates to do what they need to do to help him.”

Tennessee (24-9) hasn’t advanced past the Sweet 16 in the past five tournaments despite never being lower than a No. 5 seed. The Vols have been knocked out every year by a lower seed.

Tennessee’s first-round game Thursday comes against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion Saint Peter’s (19-13), a team that two years ago stunned the college basketball world by making a run to the Elite Eight as a No. 15 seed.

Peacocks coach Bashir Mason said Knecht’s size makes him a difficult matchup for his smaller wings.

“That kid always has his foot on the gas, and he’s trying to score, putting pressure on the defense,” Mason said.

The game also features a matchup of half-brothers, with Tennessee’s Zakai Zeigler facing Saint Peter’s Armoni Zeigler.

POINT GUARD RIVALRY

Two of the nation’s top point guards meet Thursday when Texas’ Max Abmas and Colorado State’s Isaiah Stevens clash in Charlotte.

Both are five-year starters, with Abmas amassing more than 3,100 points during his career, which included four years at Oral Roberts. Stevens is Colorado State’s all-time career leader in points (2,340) and assists (834).

“I don’t think it gets any better than what we have here,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “With the careers that they’ve had, people around the country need to know these two guys and that they had an impact on the college game.”

Abmas and Stevens both grew up in the Dallas area, competing against each other on the travel ball circuit and in high school. They’ve worked out together the past few summers as well.

“He’s an electric player,” Stevens said. “He’s been that way since he was young. It’s going to be really cool seeing how our journeys have crossed paths again.”

Stevens leans toward being a distributor, averaging 16.2 points and 7.3 assists per game for 10th-seeded Colorado State. Abmas’ strength is his scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game while attempting 242 3-pointers for No. 7 seed Texas.

“He’s like a Steph Curry in college basketball,” Rams coach Niko Medvid said. “They’re obviously a little bit different players that way. Isaiah is maybe a little bit more of a passer, but they both can do everything at an elite level.”