KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Dalton Knecht scored 21 points and No. 17 Tennessee rallied from a second-half deficit to beat No. 20 Illinois 86-79 on Saturday.
Knecht had eight points in a pivotal four-minute stretch when the Voluneers (6-3) rallied from a four-point deficit to a six-point lead with just more than 13 minutes to play. The Illini were held scoreless in the stretch.
“This was the most focus, knowing what we had to do on the defensive end, all season,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “(The Illini) challenge everything you do.”
Guard Santiago Vescovi added 12 points and nine rebounds against the much-taller Illini. Jonas Aidoo scored 14 and Josiah-Jordan James had 12 points and seven assists and Zakai Zeigler scored 11. Tennessee commanded the boards 43-34.
“(Tennessee) whooped our butt on the glass in the second half,” Underwood said.
Added Barnes: “(Vescovi) is such a big part of who we’ve been. I’m really proud of him and the older guys. They were prepared for this.” (Vescovi) had an aggressive mentality. He was able to have the ‘fix-it’ plays that are so important.”
Quincy Guerrier and Terrence Shannon scored 22 each to lead Illinois (7-2). Coleman Hawkins had 12. The Illini shot 35.4% (23-for-65) from the field.
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“We’re really good,” Underwood said. “We’ve got a really high ceiling. We just missed some shots and were out of sorts.”
Tennessee went more than four minutes without scoring in the first half, allowing Illinois to build a 36-34 halftime lead behind 12 points from Guerrier.
Illinois: Consistency is a primary objective for the Illini as they begin to close out their December schedule and head into the meat grinder of their Big Ten campaign. The win over No. 11 Florida Atlantic on Tuesday and relatively strong performance against Tennessee will be efforts to build off.
Tennessee: Having played five teams that are currently ranked in the Top 25 in their first nine games can do nothing but help the Vols down the road. Tennessee begins Southeastern Conference play against Ole Miss on Jan. 6.
Illinois: The Illini will have seven days off for exams before hosting Colgate on Dec. 17.
Tennessee: Hosts Georgia Southern on Tuesday.