Illinois basketball gameday preview vs the Tennessee Volunteers

Illinois basketball will travel to Nashville for another marquee non-conference matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers. This meeting marks the third straight year the two programs have faced off, with Tennessee winning the first two matchups. This season’s game features a top-15 showdown between two teams with Final Four aspirations.

Date: Saturday, December 7
Time: 7:00 p.m. CST
Channel: ESPN
KenPom Line: Tennessee -2

Tennessee was ranked No. 1 in the country when it visited Champaign last season, and Illinois came within two points of pulling off the upset. Jordan Gainey went coast-to-coast and hit a game-winning layup as time expired, lifting the Volunteers to a hard-fought victory.

The third edition of this matchup should be another battle, as both teams enter highly ranked and are built to make noise in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Instead of playing on campus sites, this year’s game takes place in Nashville, and the 2027–28 edition is scheduled for Chicago.

Illinois will need to bring a level of toughness that was missing in Friday’s loss to UConn. Tennessee boasts one of the nation’s best defenses and is among college basketball’s elite offensive rebounding teams.

The Illini managed to score just 61 points against UConn and were outrebounded 43–38. Tennessee will challenge Illinois’ offense on every possession and make the Illini earn each point on Saturday night.

The Volunteers sit at 7–2 but are coming off back-to-back losses to Kansas and Syracuse. According to Team Rankings, Tennessee has been one of the most successful programs nationally following a loss during Rick Barnes’ tenure, going 61–21 since 2016.

Illinois basketball will need to put on the hard hats and prepare for a brawl with a physical, disciplined Tennessee team. Matching the toughness and rebounding effort from the UConn game won’t be enough. Illinois will need to elevate on both ends to secure a major semi-road victory in Nashville and their first quad one-win of the season.

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