Dalton Knecht leads Tennessee in win against Illinois.
No. 13 Tennessee (6-3) defeated No. 18 Illinois (7-2), 86-79, Saturday at Food City Center.
Illinois led, 36-34, at halftime.
The Vols have now won two consecutive games after suffering three straight losses.
Five Tennessee players scored 10-plus points in the contest. Dalton Knecht scored 21 points and 13 in the second-half.
Jonas Aidoo totaled 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Santiago Vescovi recorded 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals for Tennessee.
Josiah-Jordan James added 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Zakai Zeigler finished with 11 points and four assists for the Vols.
Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr and Quincy Guerrier shared game-high scoring honors with 22 points each.
No. 13 Tennessee (5-3) defeated George Mason (7-2), 87-66, Tuesday at Food City Center.
The Vols had four players score 10-plus points.
Jonas Aidoo totaled 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Josiah-Jordan James recorded 15 points, six rebounds and six assists for Tennessee.
Tobe Awaka recorded 11 points and seven rebounds, while Dalton Knecht finished the contest with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists for the Vols.
Jordan Gainey, J.P. Estrella and Santiago Vescovi scored seven points each.
Zakai Zeigler, making his first start of the 2023-24 season, finished with six points, six assists and one rebound.
Darius Maddox recorded 15 points and five rebounds for the Patriots.
2023 Maui Invitational: Vols fall to Purdue in semifinals
No. 2 Purdue (4-0) defeated No. 8 Tennessee (3-1), 71-67, Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The Vols led, 31-30, at halftime.
Tennessee led by nine points in the first half. The Boilermakers outscored Tennessee, 10-6, in the final minutes during the first half.
Dalton Knecht totaled 16 points, including 13 in the first half, and five rebounds.
Jordan Gainey scored 15 points, Jahmai Mashack recored nine and Santiago Vescovi finished with eight for Tennessee.
Tennessee will next play on Wednesday in the third-place game at 2:30 p.m. EST against either Kansas or Marquette.
No. 8 Tennessee (3-0) defeated Wofford (2-1), 82-61, Tuesday at Food City Center.
The Vols led, 36-31, at halftime.
Dalton Knecht scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second-half. He was one of three Tennessee players to score 10-plus points against the Terriers.
Jordan Gainey scored 16 points, including 11 in the first half. Santago Vescovi totaled 11 points.
Tobe Awaka totaled nine points and six rebounds. Josiah-Jordan James, who scored his 1,000th career point in the contest, recorded eight points and seven rebounds. Jahmai Mashack added seven points, while Jonas Aidoo posted seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Wofford’s Corey Tripp led all scorers as he finished 19 points.
Santiago Vescovi named to Jersey Mike’s Naismith Award preseason watch list.
Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi has been named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Player of the Year preseason watch list.
He was one of 50 players on the list, which was released Monday.
Vescovi was also on the preseason watch list last year and is one of seven SEC players to appear on the list this season.
He is a two-time First-Team All-SEC selection and a Blue Ribbon College Yearbook Preseason Fourth-Team All-American. Vescovi has also been named Preseason First-Team All-SEC by both the media and the league’s coaches.
He is also among 20 players on the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year preseason watch list.
Vescovi averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season, leading the Vols to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Three Tennessee basketball players receive all-conference preseason honors from the league’s coaches.
Three Tennessee men’s basketball players received All-SEC preseason honors from the league’s coaches Thursday.
Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler received first-team honors, while Josiah-Jordan James was named to the second team.
Tennessee is the only school to have three players receive preseason All-SEC honors.
Vesovi, a fifth-year guard, was also named First-Team All-SEC by media. A two-time first-team all-conference selection, Vescovi averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season.
Zeigler received Second-Team All-SEC honors from the media. He was also named Second-Team All-SEC following last season, averaging 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 2022-23.
James, also a fifth-year player for Tennessee, earned second-team preseason honors from media.
James averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game last season.
Santiago Vescovi named to Jerry West Award preseason watch list.
Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi has been named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award preseason watch list by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The award is named in honor of Jerry West, a 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player, and recognizes the top shooting guard in NCAA Division I men’s college basketball.
Vescovi is one of 20 candidates on the watch list, determined by a national panel of basketball personnel.
Vescovi averaged 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season. He helped lead Tennessee to a 25-11 (11-7 SEC) record, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Santiago Vescovi announced he is returning to Tennessee for a fifth season.
Vescovi is a two-time All-SEC player and is returning with an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Vescovi averaged 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season. He recorded a 39.6 shooting percent and a 37.0 shooting percentage in three-point attempts.
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Vescovi appeared in 33 games for Tennessee and scored 10-plus points in 22 contests last season.
He is one of two players in Vols’ history to make at 100 three-point attempts in a season, joining Chris Lofton.
The 6-foot-3, 192-pound guard came to Tennessee from Montevideo, Uruguay.
On the verge of playing in the Sweet 16, Vescovi can’t help but think about his journey from Uruguay to the University of Tennessee.
On the verge of playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time, Santiago Vescovi can’t help thinking about his journey from Uruguay to the University of Tennessee.
Vescovi, who was born in Montevideo, began attending the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City at 16 years old. He moved to the NBA Global Academy in 2019 and began to put his name on the basketball map while in Canberra, Australia.
Then 17, Vescovi led the NBA Global Academy to the championship in the NBA Academy Games in July 2019. He was also a standout in the G League International Challenge with Uruguay Elite a few months later despite being one of the youngest players in the event.
He was considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports and eventually fielded scholarship offers from several Division I programs, including Butler, Miami (Fla.), Rutgers and Tennessee.
He committed to the Volunteers in November 2019.
Vescovi led all players in scoring in the G League International Challenge, averaging 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, three assists and 1.5 steals. (Photo via NBA Academy)
Now a senior, Vescovi is a key reason the Vols are in the Sweet 16.
He was named to the All-SEC first team after averaging 12.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals on 37.1% shooting from 3-point range. He finished third in the SEC in 3-pointers (88) and third in 3-point percentage.
Vols coach Rick Barnes commended Vescovi for his overall ability.
He is a very versatile player. He impacts winning without ever scoring a basket. … I’ve said before: I don’t know of anybody who has been guarded any harder than he has been guarded all year long. People literally won’t leave him. He is a very smart player.
What he has done as much as anything is the way he has impacted the game on the defensive end. He went from a guy early in his career that people literally went after every game to where now he has been on the All-Defensive Team because he understands the game and understands how to impact winning.
Vescovi produced 14 points, five rebounds and five assists to go along with four 3s on Saturday in a 65-52 win over fifth-seeded Duke in the East Regional. He has the fourth-most 3-pointers in program history in the NCAA Tournament (15).
He reflected on his journey following the victory.
First of all, I’ve got to say I’m definitely thankful to both the NBA Academy and the University of Tennessee for giving me the chance (being) here from South America. Basketball is big but not that big down there and having the chance that they gave me definitely — learning the language to where I’m at right now — has been a massive change.
The contest was a bit of a full-circle moment, too.
Vescovi had the opportunity to face Duke freshman Tyrese Proctor, who attended the NBA Global Academy in Australia. The two overlapped there for about half of a year when Proctor first arrived and they even spent time as roommates.
Proctor liked the chance to face Vescovi.
(It was) pretty cool. Lived with him for a while when he came over to the Academy, and it was just good matching up with him again back on a big stage.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8cwekPNWq/
The NBA Academy, which was started in 2016, is a year-round basketball development program that provides the top high school-age prospects from outside the United States with the necessary tools to unlock their skills.
Vescovi and Proctor were among the 20 alumni of the NBA Academy from 15 countries that have appeared in the men’s NCAA Tournament this year. The program has helped 52 men and 42 women commit to or attend Division I schools in the U.S.
Vescovi is happy to see the program help so many players.
“Being able to see all those guys coming back and playing against each other at the high level here, I think it’s great,” Vescovi said. “I think it’s just amazing how the NBA Academy and Tennessee or Duke give the opportunity to kids that have a dream, that want to work hard every single day and bring whatever they can to the team.”
A look at the 2022-23 Tennessee basketball roster and regular-season analysis.
March has arrived and the focus shifts to postseason play throughout college basketball.
Tennessee (22-9, 11-7 SEC) finished fifth in the Southeastern Conference regular-season standings. The Vols’ final regular-season ranking is No. 19 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
The 2023 SEC Tournament begins on Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. No. 5 seed Tennessee will play the winner of No. 12 South Carolina and No. 13 Ole Miss on March 9 at 3 p.m. EST. The contest will be televised by SEC Network.
Following the 2022-23 regular season, Vols Wire looks at the performance of Tennessee’s basketball roster.
Performance and analysis for each Tennessee player is listed below.
