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Tom Hart outlines what’s different about this Tennessee team under Rick Barnes
By Keith Farner
Published:
Tom Hart didn’t waste any time to identify the way South Carolina upsets No. 5 Tennessee on Tuesday night.
“They’ve got to stop Dalton Knecht,” Hart said on his latest appearance on WJOX and “McElroy and Cubelic In the morning.” “It’s easier said than done. I think Zach Edey is the runaway national player of the year, but Knecht is going to make some people think about it.”
Hart noted that Knecht is scoring nearly 30 points per game in the SEC, and his last 5 games he’s up to about 33 points per game. That has coincided with a 5-game winning streak in which Tennessee has averaged a margin of victory of 29.4 points per game, with each decision by 20-plus.
Tennessee is 10-1 in its last 11 matchups with South Carolina, a stretch that dates back to 2018. But lately, the Gamecocks are red-hot and knocked off Kentucky last week before dispatching of Missouri. They’re just outside of this week’s AP Top 25 poll.
Hart then praised Rick Barnes’ defensive coaching ability, but the struggle over the years is offensive creativity in NCAA Tournament games, and slow possession games.
“When the possessions really matter, and he hasn’t really had that dude,” Hart said. “And Knecht’s the guy. … He’s a difference maker, probably the difference in Tennessee grabbing a 1-seed. I think before all is said and done they’re still my favorite to win the league, based on kind of roster as a whole and style of play, because we’ve still got a lot of games left.”
Tennessee will also be tested at Kentucky on Saturday, Hart said.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
