By IlliniGuys Staff

December 6, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Nashville is known for its music, but Illinois won a slugfest there Saturday night.

Four Illini scored in double figures and 14th ranked Illinois locked down No. 13 Tennessee in the second half to come away with a hard-fought 75-62 victory.

The Volunteers outhustled Illinois in the first half, winning the rebound battled 25-11 and allowing only Tomislav Ivisic to score over the final seven minutes as they took a 34-32 halftime lead.

But Illinois (7-2) answered the call, holding Tennessee for only four field goals in the final 10 minutes and limiting their opponents to just a pair of free throws over the last 4:21 in the game score their first double-digit win over a ranked non-conference opponent since beating then-19th ranked Arkansas 90-77 in November of last year.

Ivisic scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half as the long scoring option for Illinois before his teammates caught fire after the break. Freshman Keaton Wagler scored 11 of his 16 points after halftime, including a trio of three-pointers to fuel the Illini effort. The 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Kansas also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and led the Illini with five assists. Kylan Boswell added 15 and David Mirkovic tallied 10 points and six rebounds.

Illinois sent Tennessee (7-3) to its third straight loss by holding them to a season-low 37 percent shooting. The Illini grabbed only 11 offensive rebounds all night, but four of those were in the final three minutes to control the clock and keep the Volunteers at bay.

It's the first time in four games this season that Illinois managed to get the win despite being outrebounded, as the Vols won that overall battle 45-31.

Illinois connected on 39 percent of its three-point shots - its best effort since the season opener against Jackson State, hitting 11-of-28 from the arc. Wagler hit four of those, a new career high.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie scored a team-best 15 points for Tennessee, which loses to Illinois after winning the last two meetings over the past two seasons.

Illinois will now open Big Ten play Tuesday night when they visit Ohio State (6:30pm CT, Peacock). The Buckeyes defeated Northwestern 86-82 in Evanston Saturday afternoon in their conference opener.

Stay with IlliniGuys.com for complete postgame coverage from Nashville.