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Tennessee Volunteers Basketball

Tennessee basketball sets future meetings with Illinois in Nashville, Chicago

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Tennessee and Illinois have scheduled 2 more meetings.

On Wednesday, bdG Sports announced the Volunteers and Illini have agreed to 2 neutral-site games over the next 3 seasons. In the upcoming 2025-26 season, the teams will play on Dec. 6 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. A Chicago game is also planned for 2027-28, with the date and venue to be announced later.

Our program is really looking forward to this matchup with Illinois,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said in a released 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.

The announcement of the neutral-site meetings comes after Tennessee swept a home-and-home over the last 2 years. In December 2023, the Vols won 86-79 in Knoxville. The Champaign victory in December came on a buzzer-beater from Jordan Gainey, giving UT a 66-64 win.

Tennessee leads the all-time series 4-1. The next 2 meetings will be the first times the teams play on neutral floors. The Vols are 3-0 against Illinois at home and 1-1 on the road.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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