No. 5 Tennessee and Dalton Knecht compete to remain hot against Vanderbilt
The sport of college basketball is incredibly unpredictable. Take a look at all the turmoil in this month’s top 10 if you don’t think that statement is true. No. 5 When Tennessee boards the bus for Nashville late Saturday to play struggling Vanderbilt in a Southeastern Conference game, it looks as though it will easily continue its current winning streak. The Commodores (5-13, 0-5) had lost five straight games and nine of the previous ten. In contrast, the Volunteers (14-4, 4-1 SEC) have a stellar defense and a scorching scorer who has won the conference’s Player of the Week award twice, Dalton Knecht. After thrashing Alabama 91-71 in Knoxville on January 20, one of their best games of the season, Tennessee will have time to hone their skills with recuperation. The Crimson Tide’s formidable offense was completely destroyed by the Volunteers, who forced 22 mistakes that resulted in 23 points and limited the team to 44.6 percent field goal shooting. In many ways, that performance fits Tennessee’s season perfectly. The Volunteers have the fourth-best effective defensive field goal percentage (43.5), the second-most efficient defense (91.5 points per 100 possessions), and the highest turnover rate (19.3) among all teams, according to kenpom.com. The success of his club can be explained simply by coach Rick Barnes. “Everything we do on defense is team-oriented,” he stated. “It’s difficult to do anything one-on-one.” Tennessee makes it difficult to score, but when Knecht connects, the offense can be scary. After scoring 39 points in a game against Florida, which made him the first SEC player to do so since Shaquille O’Neal of LSU had scored 35 points in two straight games, Knecht scored 17 points in the first half and 25 points overall against Alabama. Knecht is improving and averaging 18.8 ppg. A team-high 7.3 rebounds and 12.1 points are added by Jonas Aidoo. Zakai Zeigler leads the club in assists with 5.1 while scoring 10.2 points per game. For its part, Vanderbilt’s already lengthy season continued on January 20 after suffering a 68-55 setback at Mississippi State. The Commodores struggled mightily in the first half, behind 36-21 at the half and unable to rally as they converted only 37.7% of their field goal attempts. The fact that Vanderbilt is fumbling straight into what may be the worst portion of its schedule just makes things worse. This marks the beginning of a four-game stretch that also includes a home game against No. 6 Kentucky on February 6 and a trip to No. 8 Auburn on Wednesday. Jerry Stackhouse, the coach, is teaching his team to be patient. “It’s important to maintain faith in our current approach and the system,” he stated following the Mississippi State defeat. “I told them that’s not the case because it feels like you’re never going to win a game right now. Our team will win games, but we must continue to work toward improving.” The main problem has been poor shooting. The Commodores are only making 39.9% of their field goals, ranking 348th in Division I, and only 28.3% of their 3-pointers, ranking 346th.
Check out the Bellingham Herald’s article on college athletics (284721161.html) for more information.
