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Tennessee Volunteers @ Illinois Fighting Illini

Current Records: Tennessee 9-0, Illinois 7-2

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What to Know

The Tennessee Volunteers will face off against the Illinois Fighting Illini at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at State Farm Center. The Volunteers will be coming into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.

Last Tuesday, Tennessee beat Miami 75-62.

Tennessee's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Chaz Lanier, who went 8 for 15 en route to 22 points. Zakai Zeigler was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 13 points and nine assists.

Even though they won, Tennessee struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only five offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've posted since back in February.

Illinois' found some homefield redemption this week after a tough overtime loss to Northwestern on Tuesday. Illinois came out on top against Wisconsin by a score of 86-80.

Illinois got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Tre White out in front who went 6 for 8 en route to 23 points plus eight rebounds. White had some trouble finding his footing against Northwestern last Friday, so this was a nice turnaround. The team also got some help courtesy of Kasparas Jakucionis, who went 8 for 15 en route to 24 points plus six rebounds and five assists.

Tennessee's victory bumped their record up to 9-0. As for Illinois, they pushed their record up to 7-2 with the win, which was their sixth straight at home.

Looking ahead, Tennessee is expected to win a tight contest, barring any buzzer beaters. They might be worth a quick bet since they've covered the spread the last eight times they've played.

Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's game: Tennessee has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 9.2 threes per game. However, it's not like Illinois struggles in that department as they've been averaging 11.3. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Odds

Tennessee is a slight 1.5-point favorite against Illinois, according to the latest college basketball odds.

Bettors have moved against the Volunteers slightly, as the game opened with the Volunteers as a 3.5-point favorite.


The over/under is 147.5 points.

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Series History

Tennessee won the only game these two teams have played in the last year.

  • Dec 09, 2023 - Tennessee 86 vs. Illinois 79