The 20^th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to face the 17^th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday afternoon with the game scheduled to start at 12:00 PM ET and will air on CBS.

The Illinois Fighting Illini enter this game ranked 20^th in the AP Poll and 18^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 7-1 and are on a five-game winning streak following a 98-89 win at home against the Florida Atlantic Owls. The early season success for Illinois can be attributed to their offensive play as they enter this game averaging 80.13 points per game while also having an above-average defense as they are allowing an average of 62.38 points per game. Terrence Shannon Jr. has played a pivotal role in the success the Fighting Illini have had this season as he leads the team in scoring, assists, and steals with an average of 21.6 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. The Illinois Fighting Illini will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they travel to face the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee enters this game ranked 17^th in the AP Poll and 13^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 5-3 and ended their three-game losing streak following an 87-66 win at home against the George Mason Patriots on Tuesday. The Volunteers finished in 4^th place in the Maui Invitational following a 73-56 win in the 1^st round against the Syracuse Orange, a 67-71 loss against the Purdue Boilermakers in the Semifinals, and a 60-69 loss in the 3^rd place game against the Kansas Jayhawks. Tennessee has had one of the better teams defensively this season in college basketball as they enter this game allowing an average of 66.88 points per game while also being an above-average scoring team as they enter this game averaging 77.63 points per game. The Volunteers will look to get their first Top 25 win of the season when they host the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday afternoon.

BookMaker has the Tennessee Volunteers listed as 6-point favorites at home against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday afternoon. This will be the first time in the history of these two programs that they will face each other in college basketball. The Illinois Fighting Illini are 4-4 ATS overall, 1-0 ATS on the road, and 2-0 ATS as an underdog this season while the Tennessee Volunteers are 4-4 ATS overall, 2-1 ATS at home, and 4-1 ATS as a favorite on the year.

Tennessee enters this game with a better record, however, they have struggled against Top 25 teams as they have lost all three of their games against ranked opponents. Both teams are 4-4 ATS this season, however, the Fighting Illini are 2-0 ATS as an underdog and have already notched a Top 25 win when they defeated the Florida Atlantic Owls by a score of 98-89 on Tuesday which is why I am taking the points with the Illinois Fighting Illini when they travel to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday afternoon.