Champaign, IL – In its first-ever non-conference true road game as the top-ranked team in America, the Tennessee men’s basketball team battled through foul trouble to knock off Illinois, 66-64, Saturday night.
Senior guard Jordan Gainey not only clinched the victory with a buzzer-beating layup, but also poured in a game-high 23 points, his most in two seasons as a Volunteer, for top-ranked Tennessee (10-0). He scored 18 of his points in the final 14 minutes in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,544 at State Farm Arena.
Illinois (7-3, 1-1 B1G) scored the initial eight points over the opening three-and-a-half minutes, marking the first time this season the Volunteers faced a deficit greater than three. Tennessee quickly responded with a 9-1 run to pull within one at the 11:58 mark, leveling the score at 14 with 9:50 on the timer and then took its first lead, 18-17, with 7:01 to go before the break and then made it 20-17 just 22 seconds later.
The Fighting Illini countered with a 7-0 surge in 67 seconds to go back up by four, 24-20, with 4:20 left in the first half. Tennessee regained a 26-25 advantage on a dunk by sophomore forward Cade Phillips with 2:31 remaining in the session and the two sides then traded five made free throws apiece down the stretch, giving the visitors a 31-30 edge entering the locker room.
Both teams shot under 25.0 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including under 21.0 percent from 3-point range, as 34 of the 61 points came from the line. The Volunteers went 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) on first-half free throws via 14 Illinois fouls, while the Fighting Illini shot 17-of-21 (81.0 percent) at the stripe off 12 Tennessee fouls. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier totaled 15 first-half points for Tennessee, including 12 of the team’s first 16.
Despite senior guard Zakai Zeigler departing with 18:13 left after picking up his fourth foul on a game-tying three-point play by Illinois junior guard Kylan Boswell, Tennessee took its biggest lead, 37-33, with 16:46 to go. The Fighting Illini, though, answered with a 10-0 surge—capped by a four-point play by freshman guard Kasparas Jaku?ionis on the team’s second made 3-pointer of the night after a 1-of-14 start—in just two minutes to make it 43-37 with 14:20 remaining.
The Volunteers, despite conceding another four-point play to Jaku?ionis, evened the score at 52 with 8:49 on the clock after back-to-back 3-pointers from fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar and Gainey.
Tennessee regained the lead, 55-54, on another 3-pointer by Gainey, this one with 7:32 remaining. After Illinois twice went back up by three, Gainey tied the score at 62 on a 3-pointer with 2:27 to play. Senior forward Igor Mili?i? Jr., then stole a sideline out-of-bounds pass and turned it into a fast-break dunk to put the Volunteers on top, 64-62, with 1:32 left.
Boswell split a pair of free throws with 1:08 remaining to slice the deficit in half. After neither team scored for the next minute-plus, Jaku?ionis made the second of two free throws with 5.7 ticks left to tie the game. Gainey then dribbled down the floor and hit a driving layup moments before the horn sounded to send the Volunteers streaming onto the court in jubilation.
After conceding the go-ahead basket with 4:55 on the countdown, Tennessee did not allow another field goal the rest of the game and gave up just four total points in that stretch, culminating with its first buzzer-beating win in over five years, since November 30th, 2019.
Gainey shot 6-of-14 from the floor, including 3-of-6 beyond the arc, and 8-of-9 at the free-throw line, tying his career high in both makes and attempts from the stripe. He played point guard for nearly the entire second half, due to Zeigler’s early fouls, yet ended the contest with zero turnovers.
Lanier posted 17 points in the triumph, while Mili?i? had seven to go along with a game-best 14 rebounds, the top ledger by a Volunteer this year. He pulled down nine of his boards in the first 12 minutes alone.
Jaku?ionis paced Illinois with 22 points, finishing 10-of-14 from the line, but Tennessee held him to a 5-of-15 field-goal clip, including a 2-of-7 mark from deep. Junior guard Tre White notched 11 points, while Boswell contributed 10. Sophomore center Tomislav Ivisic led the Fighting Illini with 12 rebounds, but the Volunteers limited him to a 1-of-5 field-goal mark.
Tennessee, which amassed a 30-12 advantage in bench points, made 16 of its final 37 shots from the floor following a 4-of-25 start. It shot better from the field than Illinois, which it held to an overall 15-of-51 (29.4 percent) mark. The Volunteers also held the home team to a 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) tally beyond the arc.
In a game that featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes, both of which surpassed Tennessee’s total in first nine outings combined, the two sides combined for 50 points at the line, with the victors shooting 20-of-28 (71.4 percent) and Illinois going 30-of-36 (83.3 percent).
The Tennessee Vols basketball team now begins a four-game homestand Tuesday at 7:00pm against Western Carolina, live on SEC Network+ from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Tuesday marked the 12th game in program history with Tennessee ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll, as it improved to 10-2, including 9-1 in head coach Rick Barnes‘ tenure.
The Volunteers also upped its record to 23-4 all-time while ranked top-three in the AP Poll, including 20-2 under Barnes.
Tennessee remained one of the only seven undefeated teams in the country and the lone school unbeaten in both men’s and women’s basketball.
After the home team won the first four games of the series, Saturday marked the first time the visitor has won a Tennessee/Illinois matchup.
Tennessee is the only team in the SEC with a true road win over a Big Ten school this year, as each of the other two to play such a game—Alabama at Purdue and South Carolina and Indiana—fell short and no other such contests are scheduled.
The Volunteers moved to 10-0 to begin a season for the fifth time in program history, alongside 1999-2000 (11-0), 1997-98 (10-0), 1922-23 (14-0) and 1915-16 (finished 12-0).
Tennessee now has its 12th winning streak of double-digit games in program history, including its 10th in a single season and first since 2018-19 when it claimed a program-best 19 consecutive victories.
The Volunteers’ last victory by one possession came on March 16th, 2023, in Orlando, Fla., in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, a 58-55 triumph over Louisiana.
Tennessee’s last buzzer-beating win was on Nov. 30, 2019, against VCU in the Emerald City Classic in Niceville, Fla., when Lamonté Turner hit a corner 3-pointer for a 72-69 triumph.
Eleven players—six on Illinois and five on Tennessee—entered the second half with two fouls, while both sides each had two players with one apiece.
The first half featured just 12 made field goals—six for each team—and a total of three assists on those makes.
Tennessee held Illinois to just one made 3-pointer in the first half, as the Fighting Illini posted an 8.3 percent (1-of-12) clip.
Zeigler registered his third foul with 18:14 left in the game, added his fourth just one second later and then fouled out with 5.7 seconds to go.
Meanwhile, Lanier picked up his fourth foul with 7:47 to go in the contest and then fouled out with 3:42 left.
Tennessee played from behind for 23:49 in the victory after trailing for a total of just 6:38 in its first nine games of the year.
The Volunteers have held a halftime advantage in all 10 of their outings this season, including a margin of nine-plus points eight times, double digits seven times, 12-plus five times, 14-plus four times and 23-plus twice.
Saturday marked Tennessee’s sixth victory over a Power Five opponent—it has none left in non-conference action—in its first 10 games of the season, including its fifth away from home and second on the road.
Tennessee has conceded 35 or fewer points in every first half this season, including 29 or fewer in six and 22 or fewer in three.
The Volunteers’ first nine contests this season featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, with highs of five and six, respectively.
Gainey’s prior top point total at Tennessee, which he matched in the final 14 minutes alone, was 18, recorded on February 7th, 2024, against LSU.
Gainey has three previous outings with eight made free throws, most recently on February 4th, 2023, against UNC Asheville, during his USC Upstate tenure.
Lanier has now scored 17-plus points in eight of his 10 appearances as a Volunteer, including each of the last six, a stretch during which he is averaging 22.3 points per game.
Mili?i? tied for the second-most rebounds of his career and tallied the top mark by a Volunteer this year, eclipsing the 13 he grabbed on November 27th versus UT Martin.
With his lone steal of the evening, at the 13:56 mark of the first half, Zeigler became the third person to record 200 steals as a Volunteer, joining Santiago Vescovi (212 from 2019-24) and Vincent Yarbrough (211 from 1998-2002).
Dubar (five) and freshman guard Bishop Boswell (three) both set season highs in rebounds in the victory.
