Tennessee basketball announced a two-game series against Illinois on Thursday afternoon. The Vols and Fighting Illini will battle at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville this season on Dec. 6. Tennessee will make a return trip to face Illinois at the United Center in Chicago during the 2027-28 season.
“Our program is really looking forward to this matchup with Illinois,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said in a statement. “We have a great deal of respect for Brad Underwood and the Illini, and we know playing them will help prepare us for SEC action. The opportunity to compete in Nashville, a city filled with diehard Tennessee fans, is always special and we can’t wait to see Vol Nation pack Bridgestone Arena.”
Tennessee and Illinois are fresh off of playing a home-and-home series each of the last two years. The Vols knocked off Illinois 86-79 in Knoxville in December 2023 before defeating the Fighting Illini 66-64 in Champaign last season.
Tennessee’s win at the State Farm Center was one of its most notable last season as Jordan Gainey made a game winning layup as time expired. The road win was the breakout party for one of the SEC’s best sixth men a season ago. Gainey scored 23 points to lead the Vols to the victory while Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier battled foul trouble.
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The Vols’ wins over Illinois the last two years proved extremely beneficial for their resume, and the Fighting Illini appear to present another extremely challenging task again next season. Illinois currently ranks No. 7 in Bart Torvik’s analytics based rankings while ESPN’s Jeff Borzello has the Fighting Illini No. 16 in his way-too-early rankings. For comparison, Tennessee lands at No. 13 and No. 23 in those rankings.
With the Illinois game officially set, Tennessee basketball’s non conference schedule is starting to become set for next season.
The Vols travel to Syracuse for the ACC-SEC Challenge, host Louisville at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Tennessee will also travel to Las Vegas for the Players Era Tournament where they’ll face Rutgers, Houston and a third team that is not yet set. Tennessee will open up its 2025-26 campaign again Mercer on Nov. 3 at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville.
