The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team took an 11-point first-half lead in Sunday afternoon’s Elite Eight matchup with third-ranked, top-seeded Purdue, but came up on the short end of a hard-fought 72-66 decision.
Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht poured in 37 points, the most ever by a Volunteer in the NCAA Tournament, for sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee (27-9, 14-4 SEC) at Little Caesars Arena, nearly helping his team rally back from an eight-point deficit with under 11 minutes to go.No other Volunteer scored in double figures, although junior guard Zakai Zeigler totaled nine points and a game-best eight assists, while fifth-year guard Josiah-Jordan James scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, including hitting both his 3-pointers. Purdue senior center Zach Edey led all scorers with a career-high 40 points.
Tennessee ends their season with a record of 27 Wins and 9 Losses. Tennessee’s key wins this season were wins over: Wisconsin, Illinois, North Carolina State, Kentucky, Texas, Creighton, and two wins over Alabama. The Vols players also had the SEC Player of the Year Award in Dalton Knecth and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in Zakai Zeigler. Knecht is also a finalist for National Player of the Year which will be announced at a later date.