CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the third consecutive season, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team claimed a first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament, this time with an 83-49 decision Thursday night against No. 15-seeded Saint Peter’s.
Sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee (25-8, 14-4 SEC) led wire-to-wire at Spectrum Center and got a game-best 23 points from fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht, who entered the top five on the program’s single-season scoring list. The triumph also served as the 200th for head coach Rick Barnes in his Tennessee tenure, making him the 19th coach ever to hit that number at two Division I schools.
The Volunteers scored the first seven points in the opening two-and-a-half minutes to immediately grab control and shortly thereafter used a 19-2 run in 7:10 to push the lead all the way to 22, 29-7, with 7:04 on the timer. Junior forward Jonas Aidoo had 13 points on a perfect 5-of-5 field-goal clip at that time. Meanwhile, Saint Peter’s (19-14, 12-8 MAAC) went 3-of-20 from the floor, including 1-of-10 from deep, through the first 13 minutes.
Tennessee went on a 14-2 spurt in 3:48 late in the first session to go up by 29, 46-17, with 55 ticks left in the frame. The Peacocks hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 46-20 at the intermission. The Volunteers shot 64.0 percent (16-of-25) through 20 minutes, including 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from deep, while holding Saint Peter’s to 23.3 percent (7-of-30) and 26.7 percent (4-of-15) respective clips.
Tennessee, meanwhile, shot 45.8 percent (11-of-28) from 3-point range in the victory, as well as a 28-13 advantage in bench points. It also had a commanding 47-21 margin in rebounds, leading to a 14-4 ledger in second-chance points.
Up next for the Volunteers is a Round of 32 matchup against Texas, with action set for Saturday at 8 p.m., live on CBS from Spectrum Center. Coverage on 103.1FM WIKQ begins at 7:30pm.
