It's Hang a Banner Time in Tennessee.
The No. 4 Volunteers won the Southeastern Conference men's basketball regular-season championship and clinched the first seed at next week's league tournament with Wednesday night's 66-59 outlasting of No. 17 South Carolina in Columbia.
Tennessee fifth-year senior guard and Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht was again the biggest reason for his team's success, pouring in 26 points while shooting 5-for-11 from 3-point range.
Knecht is certain to be named the SEC's player of the year next week.
"The one thing about Dalton is that he's not afraid," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a news conference. "He's very confident, and he thinks that every shot he shoots is going to go in. I think the other guys feed off of him and that he gives them confidence.
"Dalton's tough. He is not afraid of the moment. He's a good weapon to have."
Tennessee last won the SEC title in 2018 but had to share that crown with Auburn, which won that season's only head-to-head meeting with the Vols. This is the first outright league championship since 2008 for Tennessee, which is 24-6 overall and 14-3 in conference contests entering Saturday afternoon's home finale against Kentucky.
Jonas Aidoo scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Vols, while Zakai Zeigler scored 13 while dishing out seven assists.
"Obviously I'm extremely proud," Barnes said, "but I'm also so blessed that the good Lord has blessed me with a group of guys I think anybody in the country would want to coach."
South Carolina, which was going for a season sweep of Tennessee after prevailing 63-59 in Knoxville on Jan. 30, fell to 24-6 and 12-5 within the league.
A Meechie Johnson layup pulled the Gamecocks within 59-56 with 1:16 remaining, but that would be the only occasion in the second half when they made it a one-possession game. Johnson scored 18 to lead the hosts, with Ta'Lon Cooper and Collin Murray-Boyles adding 11 apiece.
"It's not going to be easy bouncing back from this," Murray-Boyles said. "That was their championship game, and it would have been a really good spot for us if we had won it. It's never going to be easy when you're in a position like this."
Said Aidoo: "Last time at home against them, we laid an egg. We knew we had to get this one. I played like trash in that first game."
A Knecht 3-pointer and a pair of Josiah-Jordan James free throws helped the Vols grab a 15-10 advantage through the first two media timeouts. The Gamecocks pulled within 24-22, but Knecht then connected on three consecutive 3-pointers for a 33-22 lead.
Tennessee took a 35-24 lead into the break, with Knecht tallying 14 points and with South Carolina shooting just 4-of-17 from 3-point range.
A Knecht jumper less than two minutes into the second half extended Tennessee's lead to 37-24, but the Gamecocks used a 6-0 run to pull within 40-34 and forced Barnes to call a timeout. After the timeout, however, Tennessee scored eight straight points — using a Knecht 3-pointer and free throw for a four-point play — for a 48-34 advantage.
B.J. Mack and Cooper made 3-pointers to trim a 57-47 deficit to 59-53 with just less than two minutes remaining.
"It was a slugfest, and that's what we thought it would be," Barnes said. "We bogged down some, and our post guys need to finish some of those plays around the rim that we had, but I'm proud of this group. It is so hard to win a championship."
Baseball Vols win
On a night when its bats were held in check, Tennessee used the pitching of Zander Sechrist, Derek Schaefer and Kirby Connell to eke out a 2-1 victory Wednesday over Southern Indiana at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The No. 8 Vols improved to 13-1 this season with their 12th straight win.
Tucker Ebest broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth inning for the Screaming Eagles with a solo home run to center field, but the Vols responded in the bottom half when Christian Moore led off with a blast to right. Tennessee took a 2-1 lead later in the sixth on Dalton Bargo's sacrifice fly to center that scored Blake Burke.
"It was a win, and that's what you're looking to do," Vols coach Tony Vitello said. "There is a flow to the game, and sometimes it's a low-scoring game. This was a little more on will than skill."
Tennessee will host Illinois for a three-game series this weekend, with Friday night's opener set for 6.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.