Jordan Gainey saved the day for Tennessee on Saturday night.
It just took a driving layup through traffic at the buzzer to do so.
Gainey lifted top-ranked Tennessee to a stunning 66-64 win over Illinois on Saturday at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Volunteers, with about five seconds left on the clock and the game tied, had one last chance at a shot before overtime in the nonconference battle. Gainey, after catching the inbounds pass, immediately sprinted up the court and went right for the hoop.
After traveling the full length of the floor, Gainey somehow fought through everyone and got the layup up and in on time, which sparked a huge celebration from the Vols and silenced the Illini crowd.
That pushed the Volunteers to a perfect 10-0, which marked their best start since the 1999-2000 campaign.
The game was tight the entire way on Saturday, but Tennessee both fell into foul trouble and then largely shut down offensively when it mattered most. The Volunteers scored just past the seven-minute mark of the second half off a Jahmai Mashack layup, and then failed to make another field goal for the next five minutes to allow the Illini to hang in there.
Tennessee, after falling down by three at its peak, then tied the game up with a Gainey 3-pointer with just more than two minutes left.
While Illinois had a chance to seal the deal in regulation, Kasparas Jakucionis split his free throws in the final seconds — which left the game tied and set up Gainey’s game-winner.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
