Top Ranked Tennessee Holds Off Illinois in College Basketball

Illinois and number one ranked Tennessee were locked in a tight game on December 14th that could have gone either way, but the Volunteers’ Jordan Gainey drove to the basket and made a layup as time expired and Tennessee claimed a 66-64 win over the Illini in Champaign, Illinois. Gainey had a career high 23 points to lead all scorers. Chaz Lanier scored 17 and Igor Milicic Jr. grabbed 14 rebounds for Tennessee. Kasparas Jakucionis led Illinois (7-3) with 22 points.

Tennessee improved to 10-0 on the season. The SEC is off to a great start with three 10-0 teams and seven with just one loss through December 14th. The “worst” team is 7-3. None of these teams have played any conference opponents yet so we’ll see what kind of shakeup there is once conference play begins right after New Years.