Illinois Fighting Illini at Tennessee Volunteers
· Music City Madness presented by Charity: Water
No. 14 Illinois beats No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 in Music City Madness
The Fighting Illini (7-2) came in rested after an eight-day break with this their last of four Top 15 opponents over a seven-game stretch. Illinois snapped a five-game skid on neutral courts against ranked opponents and also gave coach Brad Underwood his first win in three tries against Tennessee.
Illinois is averaging 90.4 points a game this season after leading the Big Ten in scoring last season. Leading scorer Kylan Boswell went to the bench in the opening minutes grabbing at his left shoulder. He returned and finished with 15 points.
David Mirkovic added 10 for the Fighting Illini.
Tennessee (7-3) has lost three straight after going 30-8 last season and reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
Ja'Kobi Gillespie led Tennessee with 15 points. Freshman Nate Ament, who has been averaging 17.1 points a game, finished with nine.
The Vols never led by more than two and had their last lead at 49-48 on a dunk by J.P. Estrella when Illinois went on a 15-3 spurt started by Andrej Stojakovic's layup taking the lead back for good, and Boswell's layup with 6:55 to go put the Fighting Illini up 63-52. Illinois pushed that to as much as 14 in the final minutes.
Illinois controlled much of the first half. Ivisic scored the last 10 of the half for the Fighting Illini, but the Vols finished the half on an 11-4 run with Cade Phillips’ layup with 51 seconds left putting Tennessee up 34-32 at halftime.
Tennessee: Hosts No. 6 Louisville on Dec. 16.
How can I watch Illinois vs. Tennessee?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 75 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 75 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:13 | Tomislav Ivisic Defensive Rebound. | 75 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:14 | Felix Okpara missed Free Throw. | 75 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:14 | Felix Okpara made Free Throw. | 75 - 62 |
Statistics
 ILL |
 TENN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 28-58 | FG | 24-65 |
| 48 | Field Goal % | 37 |
| 11-28 | 3PT | 6-20 |
| 39 | Three Point % | 30 |
| 8-14 | FT | 8-18 |
| 57 | Free Throw % | 44 |
| 31 | Rebounds | 46 |
| 11 | Offensive Rebounds | 23 |
| 20 | Defensive Rebounds | 23 |
| 14 | Assists | 14 |
| 5 | Steals | 4 |
| 7 | Blocks | 4 |
| 6 | Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 6 | Total Turnovers | 13 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 8 | Points Off Turnovers | 5 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 5 |
| 32 | Points in Paint | 34 |
| 14 | Fouls | 18 |
| 14 | Largest Lead | 2 |
| 5 | Lead Changes | 5 |
| 80 | Lead Percentage | 6 |
Game Information
Location: Nashville, TN
Attendance: 16,157 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | 2-0 | - | 7-2 |
| Michigan | 1-0 | 0.5 | 8-0 |
| Michigan State | 1-0 | 0.5 | 8-1 |
| Purdue | 1-0 | 0.5 | 8-1 |
| Ohio State | 1-0 | 0.5 | 7-1 |
| Wisconsin | 1-0 | 0.5 | 7-2 |
| Minnesota | 1-0 | 0.5 | 5-4 |
| Iowa | 1-1 | 1 | 8-1 |
| USC | 1-1 | 1 | 8-1 |
| Washington | 1-1 | 1 | 6-3 |
| Nebraska | 0-0 | 1 | 9-0 |
| Penn State | 0-0 | 1 | 8-1 |
| Illinois | 0-0 | 1 | 7-2 |
| Indiana | 0-1 | 1.5 | 7-2 |
| Maryland | 0-1 | 1.5 | 6-4 |
| Northwestern | 0-2 | 2 | 5-4 |
| Rutgers | 0-2 | 2 | 5-5 |
| Oregon | 0-2 | 2 | 4-5 |
2025-26 Southeastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt | 0-0 | - | 9-0 |
| Georgia | 0-0 | - | 8-1 |
| LSU | 0-0 | - | 8-1 |
| Missouri | 0-0 | - | 8-2 |
| Alabama | 0-0 | - | 7-2 |
| Arkansas | 0-0 | - | 7-2 |
| Auburn | 0-0 | - | 7-3 |
| Tennessee | 0-0 | - | 7-3 |
| Texas A&M | 0-0 | - | 7-3 |
| Oklahoma | 0-0 | - | 6-3 |
| South Carolina | 0-0 | - | 6-3 |
| Texas | 0-0 | - | 6-3 |
| Florida | 0-0 | - | 5-3 |
| Kentucky | 0-0 | - | 5-4 |
| Ole Miss | 0-0 | - | 5-4 |
| Mississippi State | 0-0 | - | 4-5 |