Tennessee men’s basketball will play Illinois during the 2025-26 season in a neutral-site game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Vols and Fighting Illini will play on Dec. 6 and the contest will be televised by ESPN’s family of networks. A game time and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
“Our program is looking forward to this matchup with Illinois,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “We have great respect for (head coach) Brad Underwood and the Illini, and we know playing them well help prepare us for SEC action. The opportunity to compete in Nashville, a city filled with diehard Tennessee fans is very special and we can’t wait to see Vol Nation pack Bridgestone Arena.”
The two schools have met in each of the last two seasons and have agreed to play a neutral-site game in Chicago, Illinois during the 2027-28 season. A date and venue will be announced at a later date.
Tennessee swept a home-and-home series against Illinois the last two seasons. The Vols have won four of their previous five meetings between the two schools.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee to play neutral-site games against Big Ten school