"Dalton Knecht is the best player in the country": Tennessee guard's impressive performance startles hoops fans

Dalton Knecht is in the midst of a strong season in his first year as a member of the Tennessee Volunteers after joining the program via the transfer portal ahead of 2023-24.

The fifth-year senior had an impressive performance on Wednesday as he led the No.4-ranked Volunteers to a 66-59 SEC regular season title-clinching victory over the No.18-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.

Dalton Knecht finished with 26 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block while shooting 9-23 from the field, 5-11 from 3-point range and 3-3 from the free-throw line.

Fans reacted to his play with plenty of praise. One fan labeled him as the best player in the nation:

"Dalton Knecht is the best player in the country"

Another asked for an explanation as to why Knecht should not be named the Naismith College Player of the Year over Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey:

"Someone please explain why Zach Edey should win the Naismith award over Dalton Knecht?"

Here are some of the other reactions:

Dalton Knecht sets sights on SEC tournament

After the game, Knecht said he was not satisfied at just clinching the first outright regular-season conference title since the 2007-08 season and set his sights on the SEC tournament.

“It feels great,” Knecht said. “We all knew it was hard work and we got the job done. But we know, at the same time, the job’s not done. We still got the SEC (Tournament), and we got the big one.”

Knecht said that while the Tennessee Volunteers deserved to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, he wasn't focused on numbers.

“No doubt,” Knecht said. “We know we’re at our best every single time. We’re just going out, we don’t care about the one-seed. We’re just going out, ready to compete against everybody.”