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Illinois Fighting Illini @ Tennessee Volunteers

Current Records: Illinois 7-1, Tennessee 5-3

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The Tennessee Volunteers will be playing at home against the Illinois Fighting Illini at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the pair posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Tennessee's three-game losing streak finally came to an end on Tuesday. They blew past the Patriots 87-66. The result was nothing new for Tennessee, who have now won three matches by 21 points or more so far this season.

Tennessee can attribute much of their success to Josiah-Jordan James, who scored 15 points along with 6 assists and 6 rebounds, and Jonas Aidoo, who scored 17 points along with 8 rebounds. Aidoo continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Tobe Awaka was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with 7 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Illinois entered their tilt with FAU with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. The Fighting Illini came out on top against the Owls by a score of 98-89 on Tuesday.

Illinois relied on the efforts of Terrence Shannon Jr., who scored 33 points, and Marcus Domask, who scored 33 points along with 6 rebounds. Domask continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played.

The Volunteers have yet to lose a game at home this season, leaving them with a 5-3 record. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 26.67 points. As for the Fighting Illini, their victory bumped their record up to 7-1.

Not only did both teams in this Saturday's game win their last matches, they also took care of their bettors and covered the spread. Going forward, Tennessee is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 6.5 points. Illinois might be worth a quick bet since they've covered the spread the last four times they've played.

This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Tennessee have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Illinois (currently ranked fourth in rebounds per game) struggles in that department as they've been even better at 46.4 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Come back here after the game to find expert analysis of the match and other NCAA Basketball content.

Odds

Tennessee is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Illinois, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 6.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is set at 145 points.

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