šŸ€ The Dalton Knecht Show

Will Tennessee keep it going?

Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the weekā€™s top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.

Hereā€™s what we have for you today:

  • The amazing experience of watching Dalton Knecht play basketball

  • Tennesseeā€™s odds for an SEC title and College Football Playoff spot

  • The future of the NCAAā€¦ does it have one?

  • Tennesseeā€™s huge basketball game at Alabama

THE GROWING LEGEND OF DALTON KNECHT

Dalton Knecht has taken over

Dalton Knecht is on a special run. 

Tennesseeā€™s star basketball player produced his latest work of art on Wednesday night:

39 points against Auburn, with 25 of them coming in the final 12:01 of the game. 

Knecht outscored Auburnā€™s entire team by four points during the final 12-plus minutes. 

Just when you think youā€™ve seen it all from Knecht, he goes out and one-ups himself. 

Knecht now has four games with 35-plus points this season, the most of anyone in college basketball. 

Watching Knecht in person on Wednesday night was like being at the theatre.

Once he got going in the second half, you could feel everyone in the arena anticipating what he would do next.

And then he would do something amazing.

Some of Knechtā€™s best performances this season have come in Tennesseeā€™s biggest games.

Knechtā€™s showing against Auburn has to be his best one yet. 

He stepped up when Tennesseeā€™s offense needed it ā€” and Auburn couldnā€™t do anything about it. 

ā€œAt the end, they ran three (defenders) at him,ā€ Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the game. ā€œI mightā€™ve done the same thing. Because you can tell when a guy gets heated up like that.ā€

Knecht has a way of heating up when Tennessee needs it the most.

And heā€™s been exactly what the Volsā€™ offense has needed the last few seasons.

Knecht is the biggest reason for optimism of a deep NCAA Tournament run this season.

VFL Ron Slay told Tennessee fans in January to ā€œenjoyā€ Knecht while heā€™s here

No problem there. 

It looks like more people around the country have taken notice. 

CJ Moore of The Athletic proclaimed himself the ā€œpresident of the Dalton Knecht fan clubā€ early in the season. 

And ESPNā€™s Jimmy Dykes joined Knechtā€™s campaign team after calling Tennesseeā€™s win against Auburn alongside Tom Hart. 

Itā€™s hard to believe Knecht has a real shot at winning national player of the year. 

Thatā€™s not to say Knecht shouldnā€™t win it. 

Itā€™s just that Purdueā€™s Zach Edey, whoā€™s second in the nation in scoring and third in rebounding, looks like a lock at this point. 

But Knecht should be a first-team All-American and is the favorite to win SEC Player of the Year.

Heā€™s also established himself as an all-time great Tennessee player. 

The rest of the season will affect where fans decide to rank Knecht on that list.

A player is always remembered in part by his teamā€™s success. 

If Tennessee can make its first ever Final Four run ā€” or at least come close ā€” Knecht will rank at or near the top for a lot of UT fans. 

Bernard King is Tennesseeā€™s best all-time player; heā€™s one of the best scorers in the history of basketball. 

But what Knecht is doing right now puts him in the conversation with Tennesseeā€™s best. 

So letā€™s see what he can do next. 

I canā€™t wait to find out. 

TENNESSEE FOOTBALLā€™S TITLE ODDS

Josh Heupelā€™s Vols will enter 2024 in the CFP race

Optimism is already high for Tennessee football in 2024.

It might grow as the offseason progresses.

Sportsbook BetOnline released its odds for the SEC championship and 12-team College Football Playoff this week.

Tennessee received the 14th-best odds to make the playoff, essentially placing UT just outside the projected field.

But the Volsā€™ odds to win the SEC title might provide a boost to Tennesseeā€™s playoff hopes for 2024.

Here are the SEC title odds from BetOnline:

*Georgia 2/1
Texas 5/2
Ole Miss 13/2
Tennessee 9/1
*Alabama 9/1
LSU 10/1
Missouri 11/1
Texas A&M 22/1
Auburn 50/1
*Oklahoma 50/1
*Kentucky 80/1
South Carolina 90/1
*Florida 100/1
*Arkansas 125/1
*Mississippi State 200/1
*Vanderbilt 250/1

You might notice an asterisk next to eight of the SEC teams.

Those are Tennesseeā€™s conference opponents for the 2024 season.

Alabama and Georgia are the only two teams among the top eight on Tennesseeā€™s schedule.

Tennessee will play the bottom four teams in terms of odds to win the SEC title: Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.

And Kentucky gives Tennessee five of the bottom six teams on the list.

This doesnā€™t mean Tennessee will have an easy SEC schedule.

But the Vols have a more manageable set of games than some of the teams theyā€™ll compete with for a championship.

Alabama and Georgia will both play four of the top eight teams in BetOnlineā€™s title projection.

Tennessee will likely need a 10-2 record to reach the playoff.

A 9-3 record could get the Vols in ā€” but donā€™t bet on that right now.

Going 10-2 is a big ask.

But the schedule, which also includes NC State in Charlotte in Week 2, could be a lot worse.

That has to help Tennesseeā€™s odds.

FIVE SPORTS NUGGETS

šŸˆ VFLs Kamal Hadden, Joe Milton and Jaylen Wright are in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. And Wright appears to be climbing up draft boards.

šŸˆ Tennessee planned for its fight against the NCAA over NIL before Nico Iamaleava and his 2023 class arrived in Knoxville.

šŸˆ The NFL might be ready to use technology, instead of the chain gang, to measure first down rulings.

šŸ€ Check out Bracket Matrix to see where many different projections have Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament field.

šŸ€ Iowa star Caitlin Clark confirmed she will enter the WNBA Draft following this season.

āš½ One Knox SC games will again be on ESPN+ this year (the season starts March 23).

THE NCAAā€™S FUTURE(?)

What role will SEC commissioner Greg Sankey play in the NCAAā€™s future?

Last weekā€™s newsletter covered the new 12-team playoff format.

We also mentioned the possibility of a 14-team playoff taking over in 2026.

A week later, there is ā€œmomentumā€ for the 14-team idea, according to ESPN.

But thereā€™s another note ā€” a potentially LARGE one ā€” included in the above link.

From ESPN:

One high-ranking official involved in the discussions told ESPN on Wednesday that the presidents and chancellors in both the SEC and Big Ten are having conversations about whether to continue their NCAA membership. It's a move that would impact and could possibly derail the TV agreement.

The source told ESPN this:

ā€œThose conversations are happening,ā€ adding that some feel ā€œpretty strongly about pulling away. Iā€™d say very strongly.ā€

The NCAAā€™s future has been a big question recently, especially after the organizationā€™s latest loss in court against the states of Tennessee and Virginia.

What power does the NCAA have right now in the world of college football?

Not much.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten and SEC look stronger by the day.

Weā€™ll see what happens next, but pay close attention.

Unlike previous moves in the college sports world, this story seems to be developing rather quickly.

BACK TO BASKETBALL

Zakai Zeigler is ready for March

We canā€™t overlook Tennesseeā€™s game at Alabama on Saturday night.

While fans celebrate the Dalton Knecht Experience, Tennesseeā€™s team turned its focus to a huge road game on Saturday night.

šŸ“ Tuscaloosa, Ala.
šŸ“… Saturday, March 2
ā° 8:00 p.m. ET
šŸ“ŗ ESPN
šŸ“» 99.1 The Sports Animal/WIVK

Tennessee will be on the big stage for this one.

ESPNā€™s College Gameday will be in Tuscaloosa to help promote the game.

āž”ļø At stake: An SEC regular season championship and a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee and Alabama are tied atop the SEC standings, with the Vols holding a head-to-head win from Jan. 20 in Knoxville.

A second win over Alabama would give Tennessee a huge edge in trying to win an outright title.

Remember: the SEC does not use a tiebreaker for regular season championships.

If Tennessee and Alabama finish with the same SEC record, theyā€™ll split the title ā€” with a tiebreaker being used for seeding in the SEC tournament.

Tennessee has ONE outright SEC title since 1967, when Chris Lofton and the 2007-08 Vols won it.

(Tennessee last shared the SEC title with Auburn in 2018.)

Tennessee also has a real shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Right now, the Vols or North Carolina look like the top No. 2 seed with Arizona holding onto the final No. 1 seed (the other No. 1s being Houston, Purdue and UConn).

If Tennessee wins out against Alabama, South Carolina and Kentucky, the Vols would have a GREAT case to receive their first ever No. 1 seed.

Even a 2-1 finish with a win at Alabama would give Tennessee a legit opportunity.

So Tennessee needs this one.

And so does Alabama.

The Crimson Tide can score ā€” they rank No. 1 in the nation in offensive efficiency.

But Alabamaā€™s defense ranks No. 100 in the country.

Bit of a difference there.

Something that Knecht, Zakai Zeigler, and Tennessee will try to take advantage of.

Enjoy it on Saturday night.

March is here!

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