How To Watch: No. 13 Tennessee Basketball vs. No. 14 Illinois in Nashville

Tennessee Basketball is back on the road for a fifth straight game away from home, facing Illinois Saturday night in a neutral-site game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.

The Vols (7-2) have lost back-to-back games, against Kansas in Las Vegas last week and at Syracuse Tuesday night. Tennessee hasn’t lost three straight games since November 2023, against Purdue, Kansas and at North Carolina.

Tennessee and Illinois are playing for a third straight season. It was reported in May that the series between the two teams after playing a home-and-home over the last two season. The Vols will face the Illini at the United Center in Chicago in the 2027-28 season.

How To Watch: No. 13 Tennessee vs. No. 14 Illinois

When: Saturday, 8 p.m. Eastern Time | Where: Bridgestone Arena

TV: ESPN | Streaming: ESPN App

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

Satellite Radio: SiriusXM and SiriusXM App

KenPom.com Prediction: Tennessee 77, Illinois 75

A closer look at Illinois

Illinois is ranked No. 17 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, one spot behind Tennessee. The Illini are No. 15 in adjusted offensive efficiency (122.4) and No. 21 in adjusted defensive efficiency (97.5).

The Vols are No. 11 on defense (94.6) and No. 30 on offense (119.7). 

Illinois started the season with four straight wins, being Jackson State, Florida Gulf Coast, Texas Tech and Colgate. The Illini are 2-2 over their last four, losing 90-86 to Alabama in Chicago on November 19 and 74-61 against UConn at Madison Square Garden last Friday.

Illinois beat Long Island on November 22 and UT Rio Grand Valley on November 24 and has been off since the UConn game eight days ago. 

Illinois is ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25, No. 15 in the Coaches Poll and No. 26 in the NET.

Tennessee swept home-and-home with Illinois

Tennessee swept its home-and-home against Illinois over the previous two seasons, winning 86-79 at Food City Center in December 2023 and 66-64 at Illinois last January after Jordan Gainey went coast-to-coast to score a buzzer-beating layup in traffic. 

Gainey scored 23 points off the bench and Chaz Lanier scored 17 to lead Tennessee to the win at Illinois. Igor Milicic Jr. had seven points and 14 rebounds and Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack scored six points each, with Mashack adding four steals. 

Tennessee had all five starters score in double-figures in the home win over Illinois two seasons ago, with Dalton Knecht scoring a team-high 21. Jonas Aidoo scored 14, Santiago Vescovi had 12 and Zeigler and Josiah-Jordan James had 11 each. 

The teams played three times between 1967 and 1988. The Vols lost at Illinois in January 1988, 103-79, and won at home in December 1985 and December 1967.