Beyond the home and home game that was planned two years ago, the Tennessee-Illinois rivalry will go on. Jon Rothstein claims that Illinois and Tennessee are completing an agreement to play at two neutral sites. The first meeting is scheduled on December 6th in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena.
There would be a future return date for the United Centre in Chicago.
In the last two seasons, Tennessee defeated Illinois in both meetings. After winning in Knoxville in 2023, the Volunteers triumphed in Champaign in 2024 thanks to a spectacular layup by Jordan Gainey in the final seconds. Rick Barnes seeks out high-profile non-conference games in November and December to put his squad in the firing line before the SEC challenge.
In the end, Tennessee received a No. 2 seed and Illinois a No. 6 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Both teams placed in the top 20 of KenPom at the end of the season.
This offseason, Rick Barnes, who stifled retirement rumours late in the season, refreshed his roster almost entirely. Barnes will be led by veteran point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, with five-star rookie wing Nate Ament set to take on a significant amount of the workload. Along with Felix Okpara, Bishop Boswell, Cade Phillips, and JP Estrella, the roster is completed by veteran guard Amaree Abram and former Vandy big man Jaylen Carey.
Illinois also made some significant splashes, bringing in big-time guard Andrej Stojakovic from Cal and centre Zvonimir Ivisic from Arkansas.
As September draws near, expect to see this meeting and a number of other non-conference matchups finalised soon.
