Tennessee basketball bringing back alternate uniform vs. Illinois
Tennessee basketball will be back in its “Tennessee Classic” alternate uniform for today’s game against Illinois inside a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena. The uniform was introduced last January before a win over Texas.
The cream-colored uniform features Vols in orange script letters across the chest, orange numerals and an orange stripe down the sides.
Tennessee wore the uniform against Texas, Alabama and Arkansas in the regular season last season. It was back for the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament, too.
“The Tennessee classic uniform celebrates the unique history of the UT brand,” Tennessee athletics wrote in a statement when the new looks was introduced in January. “Alongside prior introductions of the Smokey grey, Dark Mode and Summitt Legacy concepts, Tennessee Classic presents a fourth alternate for Tennessee’s athletic teams.”
No. 17 Tennessee vs. No. 20 Illinois: How To Watch
Start Time: Saturday, Noon Eastern Time
TV: CBS
Streaming: FuboTV (Try for free) – For a limited time, new subscribers can save $20 on Fubo’s Pro, Elite and Premier plans for the first month
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
The Line: Tennessee -7 | 145.5 total (CircaSports)
KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 76, Illinois 71 (Vols 67% chance to win)
A Closer Look: Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois has won five straight since losing to Marquette at home on November 14. The Illini beat No. 11 Florida Atlantic 98-89 on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, getting 33 points each from Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask.
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Shannon, a Chicago native who started his college career at Texas Tech before transferring to Illinois, leads the team in scoring at 21.6 points per game, ahead of 12.1 from Domask. Shannon shoots 53.9% from the floor and 45.2% from the 3-point line. Damask, a 6-foot-6 forward, transferred to the Illini after four seasons at Southern Illinois.
KenPom has Illinois at No. 14 overall. The Illini are ranked No. 11 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 92.5 points per 100 possessions, and No. 29 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 114.6 points per 100 possessions. The Vols are No. 9 overall in the KenPom ratings and are No. 2 on defense (89.8) and No. 32 on offense (114.2).
Tennessee’s home-court advantage under Rick Barnes
Tennessee is 111-22 at Thompson-Boling Arena during the Rick Barnes era and has not lost a non-conference home game in almost four calendar years. The Vols have won 24 straight non-conference home games, dating back to a loss to Wisconsin on December 28, 2019.
Last season Tennessee went 14-2 at home, with losses to Missouri and Kentucky. The Vols were perfect at home in 2021-22 (16-0) and 2018-19 (18-0). They lost three games at home in the 2020-21 season (Alabama, Missouri and Kentucky) and lost six times at home in 2019-20 (Memphis, Wisconsin, LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn.
Eleven of the 22 home losses under Barnes happened during his first three seasons at Tennessee, with four losses in 2015-16, five in 2016-17 and two in 2017-18.
