According to a press release from Tennessee Basketball, The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team will face Illinois in Nashville, Tenn., during its 2025-26 non-conference slate, as released Wednesday afternoon by bdG Sports.
The Volunteers and Fighting Illini will square off Dec. 6 at Bridgestone Arena. The game time and TV network—it will be on an ESPN channel—will be announced later.
The two programs are also in agreement to play another neutral-site game during the 2027-28 campaign, with that affair slated for Chicago. The game date and venue are still to be determined.
The Volunteers swept a home-and-home series over the last two years. Tennessee first claimed an 86-79 home victory on Dec. 9, 2023, and then knocked off the Fighting Illini, 66-64, on a Jordan Gainey buzzer-beater on Dec. 14, 2024, in Champaign, Ill.
The Volunteers’ game against Illinois is part of a two-day event, as Kentucky will play Gonzaga at Bridgestone Arena the prior night.