Fans can catch Saturday’s game between the Volunteers (9-0) and Fighting Illini (7-2) on Fox. Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst will have the call.
Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Steve Hamer describing the action.
In its most recent action Tuesday night, facing a non-conference opponent as the No. 1 men’s basketball team in the nation for the first time in program history, Tennessee defeated Miami, 75-62, at Madison Square Garden.
Fifth-year guard scored a game-high 22 points for top-ranked Tennessee (9-0), which trailed for just 35 seconds, in the Jimmy V Classic.
THE MATCHUP
• Each of the four games in the all-time series, which returned last season after a 35-year hiatus, have been won by the home team. Tennessee claimed victories on 12/15/67 and 12/10/85, followed by an Illinois victory on 1/17/88 and a Tennessee win on 12/9/23.
• After a 29-9 (14-6) showing that included an Elite Eight trip, the Fighting Illini were picked fourth in the Big Ten preseason poll.
• Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis paces Illinois with 15.4 ppg, 5.4 apg and 1.4 spg.
• Tennessee is 34-44 all-time versus the current Big Ten schools. Illinois (3-1), Rutgers (2-0) and Southern Cal (5-3) are the three such schools it is multiple games over .500 against.
• Rick Barnes owns an even 40- 40 record versus the current Big Ten membership. He is 7-8 in his Tennessee tenure, including 6-5 in the regular season, with the wins against seven different schools.
• The Vols are one of just 14 Power Five teams playing two true non- conference road games versus fellow Power Five programs.
NEWS & NOTES
• This is one of five non-conference matchups between 2024 Elite Eight teams, including one of two at a campus site. The others are Alabama/Illinois (N), Alabama at Purdue, Duke/Illinois (N) and NC State/Purdue (N).
• Tennessee is among just seven undefeated DI schools, joining Drake, Florida, Loyola Chicago, Oklahoma, UC Irvine and Utah State. Only UT is also unbeaten in women’s basketball.
• Tennessee is 9-2 all-time as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll. It is 8-1 under 7-1 in 2018-19, 1-0 in 2023-24) and was 1-1 under Bruce Pearl (1-1 in 2007-08). This is the first time UT is playing a non-conference true road game as the nation’s top team.
• Furthermore, UT is 22-4 all-time as an AP top-three team, including 19-2 under Barnes. Its lone prior non-conference true road game while in the AP top three was a 66-62 win at No. 1 Memphis on 2/23/08, while ranked No. 2.
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