Music City Madness will be held Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. No. 13 Tennessee (7-2) will face No. 15 Illinois (6-2) in at top-15 matchup in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Tipoff between the Vols and Fighting Illini is slated for 8 p.m. EST. ESPN will televise the neutral-site contest with Karl Ravech (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) on the call.
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Tennessee leads the all-time basketball series, 4-1, against Illinois, dating to Dec. 15, 1967.
Ahead of Saturday’s game, Tennessee has a 54.9 percent chance to defeat the Fighting Illini, according to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor. Nolan Analytics projects the Vols to defeat Illinois, 75-74.
Tennessee has recorded victories over Mercer, Northern Kentucky, North Florida, Rice, Tennessee State, Rutgers and Houston since tipping off its 2025-26 basketball season on Nov. 3.
The Vols are on a two-game losing streak after suffering losses to Kansas and Syracuse.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee versus Illinois basketball score prediction
