No. 1 Tennessee basketball defeated Illinois 66-64 thanks to Jordan Gainey’s buzzer-beater.
Despite foul problems, Tennessee basketball defeated Illinois 66-64 Saturday night in its first-ever non-conference road game as the nation’s top-ranked team.
Both teams were unable to break away, and the game remained close throughout. The Fighting Illini’s offense boomed at times after a few three and four-point plays by guards Kasparas Jakucionis and Kylan Boswell. Their largest lead of the game was 8.
When it appeared that things would go out of control, the Volunteers never shied away and were able to fight back to reduce the gap and hold the game within a possession or two for most of the game, which eventually led to a win.
Takeaway #1: Jordan Gainey steps up
In addition to making a game-winning layup to seal the win, senior guard Jordan Gainey scored a game-high 23 points, the most he has scored in two seasons as a Volunteer, to lead top-ranked Tennessee basketball. In front of 15,544 people in a sold-out State Farm Arena, he scored 18 of his points in the last 14 minutes.
Zakai Zeigler missed 14 minutes of play in the second half, and Chaz Lanier was benched late due to foul trouble, which led to Gainey becoming the number one option, hitting clutch baskets time and time again.
With no timeouts, head coach Rick Barnes trusted the hot hand and allowed Gainey to go coast-to-coast with 05.7 seconds on the clock to win the game for the Vols.
Takeaway #2: Physical defense leading to foul trouble
During the first half, the teams combined for 45 free throws and 26 fouls. Four of Tennessee’s five starters were among the eleven players who had two fouls each at the break.
In the second half, both Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler would eventually foul out, resulting in Tennessee basketball using lineups that were unthinkable before Saturday. Both teams would go on to combine for 45 team fouls and 64 free throw attempts.
Additionally, The Volunteers made Jakučionis commit seven turnovers, which is the most by a single opponent since Mark Sears of Alabama did the same at Knoxville on January 20, 2024.
Takeaway #3: Poor shooting from both teams
Tennessee and Illinois have among the best defenses in the country. According to KenPom, the Vols were rated second going into the game in terms of adjusted defensive efficiency, which takes opponents into account and determines how many points are given up per 100 possessions. Illinois was ranked number 17.
In the first 20 minutes, neither team’s field goal percentage was higher than 25.0%, with many of their attempts going in and out at times.
Tennessee ended the game shooting 32.3% from the field and 25.0% from behind the arc, and Illinois finished shooting 29.4% from the field and 17.4% from three.
Both teams will look to improve from this game and find ways to shoot better.
The Volunteers will start a four-game homestand against Western Carolina on Tuesday at 7 p.m., broadcast live from Food City Center on SEC Network+.
To keep up with Tennessee Volunteers basketball on social media, follow @BleedOrangeRev on X/Twitter.
Next up for Tennessee (10-0): vs. W Carolina (3-6) – Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. EST
Next Up for Illinois (7-3): at Missouri (7-3) – Dec. 22 at 1 p.m. EST
[…] its first non-conference road game as the top-ranked team in the country, they showed resilience by defeating Illinois 66-64 on Saturday night in front of 15,544 spectators at State Farm Arena. In addition to making a […]