The reigning SEC Player of the Year, guard Dalton Knecht, could not rescue the Tennessee Volunteers as they slumped to a 73-56 upset loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal on Friday.
College hoops fans on X were quick to roast the guard and the Volunteers after he had tapped his ring finger a week ago when the Volunteers beat the South Carolina Gamecocks 66-59 to win the Southeastern Conference regular season title.
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One fan wrote:
"Where's that ring now Dalton Knetch?"
Dalton Knecht gets praise from hoops insiders
Dalton Knecht has had a meteoric rise from playing for Northern Colorado last year to winning the SEC Player of the Year award this season.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports, ESPN analyst Jay Williams waxed lyrical about Knecht and how underrated he is within the college hoops sphere.
"What we're missing is, look, I keep leaning into Dalton Knecht," Williams said. "I keep going back to this song by Drake and Future, 'I'm the Plug.' This dude is the connect, right? And one of the biggest stories in college basketball that frankly, I wish people knew more about. People know about Zach Edey because he's a seven-footer. He plays for Purdue."
Williams spoke about the potential of Knecht to be the underdog story of March Madness and how we would attract fans to the tournament over other big names due to his Cinderella story.
"But let's be honest. Like that doesn't jump off the page to a normal fan. But what they can relate to is like a guy like Dalton Knecht, that last year was nowhere to be found," Williams said. "All of a sudden had a 7-inch growth spurt, that Tulsa now is like becoming the face of college basketball.
"Plays for Tennessee. Tennessee plays an in-your-face style that's gritty. It's aggressive. The level of physicality is heightened. And this dude just has swag. And frankly, he's the best story in college basketball that I don't feel like fans know about."
On3's bracketologist James Fletcher III also weighed in on how much of an impact Dalton Knecht has had in making Tennessee as good as they have been.
“Knecht is so good on offense. So far above what we thought he would be, that he has really changed this Tennessee team, and the perception of it,” Fletcher said. “From a defensive team, that’s gonna be super streaky on offense. That may have it, may not, on any given night. To a team that has a go-to guy, who you know, down the stretch, they’re going to get it in his hands.
“They’re going to run pick-and-roll, and they’re going to get out of his way every time down the floor. You better figure out a way to stop it.”
The latest loss in the SEC quarterfinals will be a big blow to the reputation built by Dalton Knecht, but he and the Tennessee Volunteers still have the Big Dance to look forward to, although not as No. 1 seeds as previously projected.
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