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Live Updates: No. 17 Tennessee vs. No. 20 Illinois

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey12/09/23GrantRamey
VOL QUEST FUBO AFI

Tennessee basketball has been no stranger to marquee games early on this season. The Vols started with an exhibition game at Michigan State in October, went to Wisconsin two weeks later, then played Purdue in Kansas in the Maui Invitational. After that, it was a trip to North Carolina last week.

Now, finally, the 17th-ranked Vols (5-3) get their first big home game of the season with No. 20 Illinois visiting Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday for a Noon Eastern Time start on CBS. The game on Friday was announced as a sellout.

Follow along for all the live updates before, during and after today’s game on The General’s Quarters

Tennessee on Tuesday beat George Mason 87-66 at home to snap a three-game losing streak, after falling to Purdue, Kansas and North Carolina. The Vols beat Michigan State 89-88 in the charity exhibition game at the Breslin Center in East Lansing on October 29 and won 80-70 at Wisconsin on November 10.

No. 17 Tennessee vs. No. 20 Illinois: How To Watch

Start Time: Saturday, Noon Eastern Time

TV: CBS

Streaming: FuboTV (Try for free) – For a limited time, new subscribers can save $20 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite and Premier plans for the first month

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee. 

Location: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)

The Line: Tennessee -7 | 145.5 total (CircaSports)

KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 76, Illinois 71 (Vols 67% chance to win)

A Closer Look: Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois has won five straight since losing to Marquette at home on November 14. The Illini beat No. 11 Florida Atlantic 98-89 on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, getting 33 points each from Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask.

Shannon, a Chicago native who started his college career at Texas Tech before transferring to Illinois, leads the team in scoring at 21.6 points per game, ahead of 12.1 from Domask. Shannon shoots 53.9% from the floor and 45.2% from the 3-point line. Damask, a 6-foot-6 forward, transferred to the Illini after four seasons at Southern Illinois.

KenPom has Illinois at No. 14 overall. The Illini are ranked No. 11 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 92.5 points per 100 possessions, and No. 29 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 114.6 points per 100 possessions. The Vols are No. 9 overall in the KenPom ratings and are No. 2 on defense (89.8) and No. 32 on offense (114.2).

Tennessee’s home-court advantage under Rick Barnes

Tennessee is 111-22 at Thompson-Boling Arena during the Rick Barnes era and has not lost a non-conference home game in almost four calendar years. The Vols have won 24 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a loss to Wisconsin on December 28, 2019. 

Last season Tennessee went 14-2 at home, with losses to Missouri and Kentucky. The Vols were perfect at home in 2021-22 (16-0) and 2018-19 (18-0). They lost three games at home in the 2020-21 season (Alabama, Missouri and Kentucky) and lost six times at home in 2019-20 (Memphis, Wisconsin, LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. 

Eleven of the 22 home losses under Barnes happened during his first three seasons at Tennessee, with four losses in 2015-16, five in 2016-17 and two in 2017-18.

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