The Tennessee Volunteers defeated challengers the South Carolina Gamecocks 66-59 at the Colonial Life Arena to win the SEC (Southeastern Conference) regular season title outright.
The Volunteers last won the SEC regular season championship in 2018 when they shared it with the Auburn Tigers. The last time they won it outright was in 2008.
The champions also had the added incentive of clinching a No. 1 seed in next week's SEC Tournament.
Their coach, Rick Barnes, praised his team for winning the regular season title, pin-pointing the leadership qualities of certain players.
"We knew it was going to be hard, but we looked at it, we said, 'We got to embrace it because we can learn a lot about ourselves and see if we can continue to get better and start forming the right mindset (for the) postseason'," Barnes said.
Trending
"Well, obviously, I'm extremely proud, but I'm so blessed. The good Lord has blessed me with a group of guys that I think anybody in the country would want to coach. And these guys, from the time that we got back in the summer before we went on our foreign trip, we talked about with Santi and Josiah especially, who's been through so much; they were five years here, and they've done such an incredible job leading along with Zakai [Zeigler]."
Vols fans on Reddit were delighted with the win, with one fan terming it 'their Super Bowl.'
Dalton Knecht lifts the Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee Volunteers ace Dalton Knecht was stellar in the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, registering 26 points, three rebounds and one assist, and he went 5/11 from beyond the arc.
After the game, Knecht expressed his delight at winning the SEC regular season title but set his sights on bigger trophies.
"It feels great," he said. "We got the job done, but at the same time, the job's not done. We've got the SEC tournament and the big one in the NCAAs."
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes outlined the role that Knecht plays in lifting the team's morale.
"Well, the one thing about Dalton, he's not afraid. He's not. He's not; he's got a really short memory, and he's very confident. He thinks he can score. He thinks every shot he shoots is gonna go in. And so he's a guy that I do think the guys feed off of him," Barnes said.
The Tennessee Volunteers have the chance to snatch away the only one-seed spot remaining from the Arizona Wildcats and in Dalton Knetch, the fans know that it is not a far-fetched wish.
What could Alabama basketball's 2024-25 starting lineup look like? Find out here
