KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team fell to No. 15/13 Kentucky, 85-81, Saturday evening at a sold-out, over-capacity Food City Center in the final game of the 2023-24 regular season.
Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht, in his final home outing, registered a career-best 40 points, the 16th such showing in program history, for fourth-ranked Tennessee (24-7, 14-4 SEC).
The Volunteers started just 3-of-18 from the field through nearly 11 minutes and, late in that stretch, Kentucky (23-8, 13-5 SEC) hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers in just 70 seconds to go ahead, 18-12, with 10:03 on the first-half timer.
The Wildcats extended their edge to 11 with 2:45 left in the frame, but after Tennessee started 5-of-27 from the floor, it got a personal 7-0 run in 1:10 from Knecht, including two 3-pointers, to get the deficit down to four, 31-27, with 1:15 remaining.
The two sides exchanged baskets in the last 16 seconds and Kentucky took a 33-29 advantage into the locker room despite 19 points from Knecht. Tennessee shot just 8-of-32 (25.0 percent) through 20 minutes, including 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) from deep, while the visitors went 13-of-34 (38.2 percent) overall and 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) on 3-pointers. The home team, though, had a 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) clip at the line, while Kentucky went 1-of-2 (50.0 percent).
Tennessee forced a turnover and hit a 3-pointer to open the second half, trimming the margin to one, but Kentucky responded soon thereafter. The Wildcats went on another 9-0 run, this one in just 1:00, to take a 12-point edge, 51-39, with 14:57 to play.
After a personal 7-3 run by Knecht, Kentucky hit back-to-back 3-pointers in 33 seconds to go up by a game-high 14 points, 60-46, with 11:53 to go. The lead held steady at 14 with under nine minutes to go, but Tennessee scored nine straight points in 64 seconds to get it down to five, 68-63, with 7:32 on the clock.
The two teams split the next four points and then the Wildcats went on a 10-4 surge to go back up by 11, 80-69, with just 2:35 left. Kentucky maintained that advantage into the final minute, but junior guard Zakai Zeigler scored six points in three seconds—a 3-pointer, a steal and a three-point play—to make it an 84-79 tally with 47.1 ticks to go.
Tennessee forced another turnover and then got two free throws from fifth-year guard Josiah-Jordan James with 31.4 seconds on the clock, making it an 8-0 run in 19 seconds to cut the deficit to three, 84-81. The Volunteers then forced a 10-second violation, but could not convert at the offensive end. Kentucky freshman guard Rob Dillingham hit a free throw with 5.9 ticks left to ice it, with that shot finishing the scoring.
Knecht’s career-best point total tied for the 14th-most in a game in program history and marked the first 40-point showing since Grant Williams had 43 Jan. 23, 2019, with those the lone two instances by a Volunteer in the last 34 years (1990-2024). The last Tennessee player to score 40-plus in Knoxville was Allan Houston, who had on Feb. 2, 1990.
The Thornton, Colo., native made 14 of his first 27 field-goal attempts and finished 14-of-29 to tie for the most makes by an SEC player this season and tie his career high. He also tied his career best in made 3-pointers with a 6-of-15 ledger.
Additionally, Knecht became the second player in Tennessee history, joining Ernie Grunfeld in 1976-77, to register 35-plus points five times in a single campaign. Four of Knecht’s such outings have come in the last 16 contests.
Zeigler totaled 17 points and a game-best nine assists, while shooting 4-of-11 from 3-point range. Junior forward Jonas Aidoo had 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high-tying five blocks, the latter mark pacing all players. James added eight points and a game-best 10 rebounds in his 81st and game at Food City Center, where he went 68-13 (.840).
Freshman guard Reed Sheppard co-led the Wildcats with 27 points, including 22 in a second half during which he made his first six 3-point attempts. Overall, he finished 7-of-10 from long range, grabbed six rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.
Fifth-year guard Antonio Reeves also scored 27 points for Kentucky, shooting 8-of-16 overall, 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and 8-of-9 at the line. Freshman guard Justin Edwards had 16 points and went 4-of-7 from deep, while Dillingham tallied 11 points in the decision.
Both teams hit at least a dozen 3-pointers, but Kentucky shot a blistering 15-of-29 (51.7 percent) beyond the arc, including 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) in the second half, while Tennessee was 12-of-36 (33.3 percent). The Volunteers had a 21-10 edge in points off turnovers—they forced 16 and had just seven—along with a 30-18 margin in paint points and a 24-12 tally in fast-break points, but the Wildcats notched a 38-5 ledger in bench points and shot 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) at the line.
With the regular season complete, Tennessee now heads to Nashville, Tenn., where it begins play Friday at 1 p.m. ET as the top seed in the SEC Tournament against a to-be-determined opponent in a quarterfinal matchup, live on ESPN from Bridgestone Arena. Coverage will begin on 103.1FM WIKQ at 12:30pm.
