The city of Knoxville has prepared for snow and freezing temperatures.
Mayor Indya Kincannon asking resident not to get out and drive, but says if you do, they are going to make them safe for everyone.
City crews pre-treat more than 500 miles of roads with salt brine, which is a liquid mix used to lower the freezing point of water to prevent ice from forming.
Officials have treated all main roads and streets that feed into them.
ATHENS, Ga. – After watching a 14-point lead turn into an 11-point deficit with under six-and-a-half minutes left, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team came all the way back to defeat Georgia, 85-79, Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum.
Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht poured in a game-high 36 points, the second-most of his career, for fifth-ranked Tennessee (12-4, 2-1 SEC) in a thrilling victory to snap the Bulldogs’ 10-game winning streaks both overall and at home.
The Volunteers used an 8-0, 41-second surge to grab an early 14-6 lead after just five minutes, with Knecht notching nine of the team’s points. They upped the advantage to 11, 28-17, with 9:54 on the clock after an 8-of-10 shooting stretch that included five straight makes.
Tennessee extended its margin to a game-best 14, 42-28, with 4:01 to go, but Georgia (12-4, 2-1 SEC) answered with nine straight points in 2:58 to make it a five-point affair with 49 seconds left before the intermission. Neither team scored after that and the score sat at 42-37 through 20 minutes.
The Volunteers, following a 16-of-28 (57.1 percent) start, missed their final seven shots of the half and did not score in the last four minutes of the frame. Their stingy defense, though, helped them maintain the two-possession lead at the break, as Georgia was just 10-of-35 (28.6 percent) in the first half.
Georgia hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening 34 seconds of the second half to go ahead, 43-42, and make it a 15-0 run over 3:32. After Tennessee regained a four-point lead, the Bulldogs scored eight consecutive points in 41 seconds to take a 53-49 lead with 16:06 remaining. They upped their cushion as high as 11, 69-58, with 8:29 to go.
Buoyed by six straight made field goals after making just five of its prior 23, Tennessee trimmed the deficit to two, 78-76, with 3:28 on the ticker. Knecht then tied the score at 78 on a pair of free throws with 2:33 to play, making it an 8-0 surge in 2:17 and giving him 31 points on the day.
The Thornton, Colo., native then put Tennessee ahead, 81-79, on a 3-pointer with 1:56 left. He then added two more free throws with 40 ticks left to stretch the advantage to four. After a defensive stop, junior guard Zakai Zeigler then hit two free throws of his own to put Tennessee ahead by six, with those shots proving to be the final points of the affair.
In total, the Volunteers ended the game on a 21-4 run in the last 6:08 to flip an 11-point deficit into a six-point victory. They outscored the home team by a 15-1 margin in the final five minutes, including scoring the only seven points in the closing two minutes.
Knecht registered his three-dozen points, one shy of his career-best mark, on 12-of-20 shooting overall, including a 5-of-8 clip from deep, along with a 7-of-9 tally at the line. He scored 20 points in the second half alone, his second straight game reaching that number after the intermission.
Zeigler totaled 18 points, a game-best five assists and a co-game-high two steals in the win. Junior forward Jonas Aidoo recorded 10 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and a co-career-best five blocks in a career-high 35 minutes of action. It marked his fifth double-double as a collegian, including his fourth of 2023-24, and gave him the most rebounds in a game by a Volunteer since January 2019.
Senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim paced the Bulldogs with 21 points, as he went 5-of-9 beyond the arc and made all six of his free throws. Graduate student guard Noah Thomasson compiled 14 points, but Tennessee held him to 5-of-15 shooting. Freshman guard Silas Demary Jr., and junior guard R.J. Melendez each chipped in 13 points for Georgia.
Tennessee limited the home team to 23-of-69 (33.3 percent) shooting, while amassing a 29-of-61 (47.5 percent) ledger of its own. The Bulldogs shot 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) from deep, but dominant interior defense limited them to just a 9-of-36 (25.0 percent) clip inside the arc. The victors also doubled up Georgia in paint points with a commanding 36-18 edge.
The Volunteers now return home to Knoxville, Tenn., where they play two games at Food City Center next week, the first of which is Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Florida, live on ESPN.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES • Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes now owns 791 victories in his career, 11 behind John Calipari—the lone active DI coach above him—for No. 14 on the all-time wins list (min. 10 years at a Division I school). • Tennessee now has 100 victories over Georgia, as it moved to 100-62 in the all-time series, which dates back to Jan. 17, 1913. • Georgia and Vanderbilt (129) are the two schools the Volunteers have triple-digit wins against in program history. • Tennessee is now 6-1 in its last seven matchups versus Georgia, winning all six times it was ranked and losing the lone time it was not, after going 2-9 in the prior 11 meetings. • Additionally, Tennessee has now won back-to-back road games against the Bulldogs for the first time since Feb. 16, 2008, and Jan. 10, 2009, which was also the last time it played consecutive road games at Stegeman Coliseum as a ranked team. • The Volunteers moved to 28-8 (.778) while ranked in the AP top five during Barnes’ tenure, across four different seasons. • In the last eight days, Tennessee has snapped the co-longest winning streak in Ole Miss history (13) and the fourth-longest winning streak in Georgia history (10). • The last time the Volunteers overcame a double-digit deficit to win was Dec. 28, 2022, at Ole Miss when they trailed by 10, 27-17, in the first half and earned a four-point triumph, 63-59. • The Volunteers snapped a streak of 15 straight setbacks when trailing with 10 minutes left in regulation, a 13-game skid when trailing with five minutes left in regulation and a 12-game losing streak when behind with two minutes left in regulation. • Tennessee committed 10 turnovers in the first half, while Georgia had just two giveaways in the opening 20 minutes. • After the Volunteers built their 14-point lead, the Bulldogs went on an extended 41-16 run over 14-and-a-half minutes to go up by 11. • Tennessee started 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range, missed its next five attempts and then finished with a 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) mark down the stretch. • Georgia opened 1-of-6 (16.7 percent) on 3-pointers, then went 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) before missing each of its last five attempts in the closing three minutes after the Volunteers got within two. • Zeigler moved past current Tennessee radio analyst Bert Bertelkamp (1976-80) to enter the top 15 on the program’s all-time assists leaderboard, now with 335. • Knecht’s 16 first-half points marked his top total before the break, the latter besting his prior high of 15 against Syracuse on Nov. 20, 2023, in Honolulu. • The 20 points Knecht scored in the second half gave him three separate games this season in which he has scored at least that many after the intermission and he has now done so in back-to-back contests. • Knecht’s 36 points marked the 43rd time in program history a player scored at least three-dozen points, including the 13th on the road and the 10th in an SEC road contest. • Knecht, who has played only four road games at Tennessee, is the fourth player in program history to score 35-plus on the road multiple times, joining Allan Houston (twice), Bernard King (thrice) and Grant Williams (twice). • In each of Tennessee’s four true road games this season, Knecht has scored 24-plus points and he is averaging 31.3 points per game in those contests, while he also had 28 in an exhibition outing at Michigan State (Oct. 29, 2023) that does not count towards his stats. • Knecht is first SEC player in the last 14 seasons to post 24-plus points in four straight road games in a single season, as the only one to do so in that time—Auburn’s Chris Denson—did it over the course of two years, from March 2013 through January 2014. • The only other SEC player in the last 19 seasons (2005-24) to log 28-plus points in three consecutive road games is LSU Antonio Blakeney, who did so in February 2017. • Prior to Knecht, the last Volunteer with 25-plus points in back-to-back games was Admiral Schofield, who did so over five years ago, notching 30 against top-ranked Gonzaga in Phoenix on Dec. 9, 2018, and then 29 at Memphis on Dec. 15, 2018. • The last Tennessee player, per Elias Sports Bureau, with 25-plus points in consecutive games that were both on the road against DI foes was Chris Lofton nearly 18 years ago when he had 31 on Feb. 7, 2006, at Kentucky and then 33 on Feb. 11, 2006, at Georgia, while Jordan McRae did it back-to-back in November 2011 with one of the contests against a non-DI team. • According to Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a Volunteer had 25-plus points in back-to-back conference games, regardless of location, was when Kevin Punter Jr., did so nearly eight years ago, logging 26 on Jan. 20, 2016, against Vanderbilt and then 36 on Jan. 23, 2016, versus South Carolina. • Knecht is the first SEC player with back-to-back 28-point games since LSU’s K.J. Williams had 35 against Vanderbilt on Feb. 22, 2023, and then 29 on Feb. 25, 2023, at Ole Miss, with Williams the only other SEC player in the last four seasons (2021-24) to do that and average at least 32.0 points per game in that stretch. • The 64 points Knecht posted in the last two games is tied for the fourth-most in a two-game span by any SEC player over the last seven seasons (2018-24). • According to Jared Berson, Knecht is the first Volunteer with multiple 35-point games in a single season since Allan Houston in 1990-91 and is also the third DI player with multiple such performances in 2023-24, alongside Purdue’s Zach Edey and McNeese State’s Shahada Wells. • Knecht became the first Volunteer to attempt 20 shots in a game since Kennedy Chandler went 13-of-20 on Dec. 4, 2021, at Colorado. • Aidoo is the fourth player to post at least 10 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks against a DI team this season, as well as the first player to do so against a Power Six opponent since last season when Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis did so at Minnesota on Jan. 25, 2023. • Before Aidoo, the last SEC player with at least 10 points, 15 rebound and five blocks in a contest was Auburn’s Walker Kesser on Feb. 8, 2022, in an overtime affair at Arkansas, while the last to do so in a regulation contest was Ole Miss’ Nysier Brooks on Jan. 8, 2022, against Mississippi State. • Aidoo became the first Tennessee player with 15-plus rebounds in a game since Kyle Alexander logged 17 at Missouri on Jan. 8, 2019. • Additionally, Aidoo became the first Volunteer with seven-plus offensive rebounds in a contest since Yves Pons had eight at Alabama on Feb. 4, 2020. • Aidoo pulled down double-digit rebounds for the seventh time in his career, including the fifth this season. • The 15 rebounds for Aidoo eclipsed the career-best figure of 13 he logged on Dec. 28, 2022, at Ole Miss. • Aidoo also notched four-plus blocks for the fourth time as collegian, including the second in SEC play and first in 2023-24. • The five blocks for Aidoo matched the career high he set on Nov. 30, 2022, versus McNeese State. • Aidoo’s prior career high in minutes was 32, set just two games prior on Jan. 6, 2024, versus No. 22/19 Ole Miss.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Knoxville woman is sentenced Friday after she shot a passenger in her ex-boyfriend’s car during an argument in July 2022.
Officials with DA Charme Allen’s office say 23 year-old Kyeisha Dalton was convicted of Second Degree Murder and Reckless Endangerment in November 2023. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
In November, prosecuting attorneys relayed how Dalton had fired a handgun into the rear passenger seat of her ex-boyfriend’s vehicle, killing Tianja Duff, who was in the backseat after Dalton and the ex-boyfriend had gotten into a heated physical altercation and car chase on July 18, 2022.
“This is another unfortunate case where an argument quickly escalated to gun violence, and in this case, the person who paid the ultimate price wasn’t even part of the argument,” said DA Allen.
Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen says she’s reviewed and closed the case file involving the shooting and death of Knox County Deputy Tucker Blakely and the suspect involved in the case.
Deputies Blakely and James Loft responded to a domestic call in October in West Knox County. Officials say when they got there they found an armed man inside the home, that’s when shots were fired and Blakely was hit and killed.
Investigators say Deputy Loft returned fire killing the suspect.
Allen says those actions by Deputy Lloft were justified, he will not face any charges and the investigation is closed.
Lawmakers are trying to crack down on street racing in Tennessee.
A new proposal allows offenders to lose their driving privileges and possibly their car. This proposal comes after a deadly drag racing crash on Magnolia Avenue which left one man dead and injured two children in June of last year. Right now, drag racing is a Class A misdemeanor.
State Representative John Gillispie says he thinks his proposed bill will help stop drag racing. He initially introduced this bill last year, since then he’s added language that says the money earned when the drag racer’s car is sold at auction would go to the state’s traumatic injury trust fund.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Three members of the Tennessee football team will represent the Volunteers this Saturday in the 2024 Hula Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Redshirt senior defensive back Gabe Jeudy-Lally, senior running back Jabari Small and redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren will each suit up for a noon ET kickoff at UCF’s FBC Mortgage Stadium.
The postseason all-star game will feature representation from NFL, UFL and CFL teams throughout the week. This year’s Hula Bowl will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
Jeudy-Lally spent his final collegiate season with the Vols in 2023 after transferring from BYU and played in all 13 games while making 10 starts at cornerback. He totaled 41 combined tackles, four tackles for loss and one sack. The Austin, Texas, native also produced five pass breakups and forced one fumble. One of Jeudy-Lally’s best performances of the season came at Alabama, where he collected five tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack.
Small, who spent the past four seasons on Rocky Top, continued to showcase his dependability and drive in the backfield in 2023. Small played in 11 games and produced 475 rushing yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, which ranked 17th in the SEC. The senior also added a pair of rushing touchdowns.
For his career, Small finished with 2,122 rushing yards, which ranks 16th all-time at Tennessee. The Memphis native also found the end zone 26 times during his time on Rocky Top with 24 rushing scores and two receiving touchdowns.
Warren concluded his time as a Vol playing and starting in each of Tennessee’s 13 games at tight end this season. The Knoxville native caught 16 passes for 191 yards while logging a single-season career high four touchdown receptions. Warren’s best performance came in his final regular-season game against in-state rival Vanderbilt when he hauled in three catches for 82 yards and a touchdown during a blowout win over the Commodores in his final game inside Neyland Stadium.
Warren received various honors throughout the season including being named a Campbell Trophy semifinalist, a Wuerffel Trophy nominee and an Allstate AFCA Good Works Team nominee while also being selected into the 2023 NFF Hampshire Honor Society.
During his time in Knoxville, Warren totaled 53 receptions for 607 yards and eight touchdowns, one shy of tying the program record for touchdown catches by a tight end.
The Knoxville Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on the night of Friday, January 26, 2024 just outside of downtown Knoxville.
KPD officers will staff the checkpoint, which will be set up in the Fort Sanders area. The purpose of the checkpoint is to deter impaired driving, prevent serious or fatal crashes, and increase public awareness of the consequences of driving while under the influence.
During the checkpoint, officers will check motorists for signs of alcohol or drug impairment.
Alcohol or drug impairment possibly contributed to over 43 percent of the fatal crashes that happened in Knoxville in 2022.
In 2022, the KPD acquired a DUI checkpoint trailer through the Tennessee High Safety Office (TNHSO) Traffic Services grant at no cost to Knoxville taxpayers that will be used during the January 26th sobriety checkpoint.
The Knoxville Police Department reminds motorists to always practice safe driving habits in all situations. Motorists are encouraged to slow down, buckle up, reduce distractions, pay attention to the road, and never drive while under the influence.
Knoxville man turns himself in for assault on Fort Sanders nurse (Courtesy: ETVCS)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE 1/12: A Knoxville man who attacked a nurse at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center earlier this month has turned himself in.
East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers say 57 year-old Jackie B. Bell turned himself in Thursday evening; Bell was wanted for attacking the nurse while visiting a patient at the hospital on January 2.
Officials thank everyone who submitted a tip regarding Bell’s whereabouts.
ORIGINAL STORY: East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers is looking for a man wanted for attacking a nurse at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.
Investigators say Jackie Bell was visiting a patient at the hospital on January 2 when he assaulted a nurse in the hospital room.
Bell is an African-American male who is bald with brown eyes and a moustache.
If you have any information, please call Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165.
Box ScoreKNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee fended off a scrappy Florida team to extend its win streak to six games, taking an 88-81 victory over the Gators in Food City Center on Thursday.
For the third straight game in SEC play, the Lady Vols overcame a double-digit deficit to claim victory, this time overturning a 12-point UF advantage in the second quarter. The Lady Vols converted on 16 of 18 free-throw tries in the final frame to seal the victory.
Tennessee (10-5, 3-0 SEC) was led by senior Jewel Spear and junior Sara Puckett, who each fired in 20 points. Spear shot 50 percent from the field and 91 percent from the charity stripe on 10 made free throws, while Puckett went 4-of-5 from behind the arc for a season-best four treys. Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson was also a top producer with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Aliyah Matharu was the high scorer for Florida (9-6, 0-3 SEC) with 23 points. Leilani Correa was also in double digits with 12, and Alberte Rimdal and Zippy Broughton each finished with 11.
The Lady Vols’ first two points came from the free-throw line courtesy of Jasmine Powell at the 9:17 mark. The Gators tied it up on the next play, but a trio of Puckett threes had the Lady Vols ahead 13-6 by the 5:13 mark. The Gators responded with four quick points to ignite an 11-2 run that gave them a 19-15 lead with 1:48 to go in the first. Tamari Key ended the drought for UT with a layup and followed it up with a long-range two on the next play to tie the game at 19-all, but Florida got a bucket in before the buzzer to take a 21-19 lead into the second quarter.
A pair of Matharu jumpers set off a 9-0 run that built the Gators’ lead to 30-19 with 7:38 to go in the half. Jackson scored UT’s first points of the quarter 40 seconds later, and the teams traded baskets until a Karoline Striplin three pulled Tennessee within seven by the media timeout at 35-28. Jewel Spear converted on an old-fashioned three-point play following the timeout to trim it to four. Correa buried a jumper on the next play, but Spear scored again to set off an 8-2 run that tied the game at 39-all with 1:05 on the clock. Florida took the lead twice more, but UT answered both times, sending the game into the half with the score knotted up at 43.
The Gators reclaimed the lead on the first play of the second half, but a jumper by Spear at the 6:59 mark put the Lady Vols ahead 47-46. A free throw by Jackson stretched the lead to two, but a three-point play by Laila Reynolds on the next possession pushed UF on top by one. Jillian Hollingshead responded with three points, and Powell followed it up with a jumper to build UT’s lead up to four with four minutes to go in the third. Florida inched within one with 90 seconds on the clock, but a three by Striplin lifted UT’s advantage back to four, and the Lady Vols maintained that through the buzzer, taking a 63-59 lead into the fourth.
Matharu pocketed a jumper on the first play of the final stanza to pull UF within two, but four quick points by Puckett and Spear extended the Lady Vol lead to six. Florida scrapped within three with 8:11 left in the game, but a pair of Kaiya Wynn free throws and another trey by Puckett provided UT a 72-64 lead with 5:39 to go. Broughton cut it back to six on the next play, but Jackson and Spear scored on back-to-back possessions to give UT its largest lead of the game at 76-66 at the 3:42 mark. Correa responded with a trey for UF to cut the deficit to seven, and that’s as close as Florida would get as Tennessee converted on free throws to close out the 88-81 victory.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will hit the road for two games, beginning with a Sunday battle at Texas A&M (13-3, 1-2 SEC). The Lady Vols and Aggies will meet at Reed Arena at 4 p.m. CT (5 ET) in a contest televised by ESPN.
COMEBACK KIDS: Tennessee has come from double digits down to win all three SEC games this season. The Lady Vols trailed Florida by 12, 35-23, with 5:53 remaining in the second quarter before rallying to a 43-all tie by halftime. The Lady Vols previously erased second-quarter deficits of 12 vs. Auburn and 17 vs. Kentucky to win those contests. This time, however, the Lady Vols made up the entire gap by intermission.
SEALING IT AT THE LINE: Tennessee made 26 of 30 free-throw attempts against Florida, the most the Lady Vols have completed from the charity stripe since last season’s contest at Mississippi State. UT went 37 of 44 vs. the Bulldogs in that contest on Feb. 6, 2023. Against the Gators Thursday night, the Big Orange closed out the game by hitting 16 of 18 tries in the fourth quarter and 21 of their 25 opportunities in the second half. UT’s 86.7-percent marksmanship also was a season best.
BIG NIGHT FOR PUCKETT:Sara Puckett co-led Tennessee with a personal SEC high of 20 points, ranking as the second-best scoring output of her career behind a career-topping 24 vs. Memphis on Nov. 13. The junior forward got off to a fast start, dropping a trio of three-pointers against the Gators in the first five minutes of the game that tied her season high of three-balls for an entire contest. She finished with a career-best 4-of-5 night behind the arc and was eight of 12 from the field on the evening. She also matched Rickea Jackson as UT’s leader in rebounds with eight, equaling her season best first recorded vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 25.
SPEAR STRONG AGAIN IN SEC:Jewel Spear tallied 20 points to tie Sara Puckett as Tennessee’s scoring leader vs. UF, marking the first time she has produced back-to-back 20-point efforts as a Lady Vol. She had 21 vs. Kentucky in the previous game. Spear was five of 10 from the field and 10 of 11 from the charity stripe vs. Florida. She also grabbed six rebounds and tied her season high with three assists.
KEY PAINT PRODUCTION:Tamari Key tied her season high with nine points vs. Florida. Key went three for three in the first quarter and finished with six points by the end of the first half, already her second-highest scoring output of the campaign behind a nine-point effort vs. Ohio State on Dec. 3. The 6-foot-6 redshirt senior wound up four of five from the field in 15 minutes of duty vs. the Gators.
