Tennessee star Dalton Knecht helped off court vs. UNC after rolling left ankle

Tennessee breakout star Dalton Knecht had to be helped from the court after stepping on the foot of North Carolina’s Seth Trimble and awkwardly rolling his left ankle late in the Volunteers’ 100-92 loss to the Tar Heels.

At the time of the injury, Knecht, a Northern Colorado transfer, had 37 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. The point total marked the most by a visiting player to the Dean Dome since La Salle’s Lionel Simmons in 1988.

Knecht, who has topped double figures in each of Tennessee’s seven games, put little weight on his injured ankle after leaving with a little more than three minutes left in the matchup.

“He stepped on somebody’s foot, turned his ankle,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes after the game. “Looked like he got it pretty good.”

A second-team All-Big Sky player a year ago, Knecht leads the Vols in scoring this season and has been a much-needed offensive punch for a defensive-minded team that at times, has struggled to score. A year ago, Tennessee ranked No. 1 in KenPom in defense, but 64th in scoring. This year, the offense has already jumped 10 spots.