One of the most highly anticipated college basketball games of this week will take place on Saturday, Dec. 9. Tennessee. The 17th ranked team in the nation, is gearing up to take on number 20 Illinois. We will explain everything that you need to know on how to watch the game in this article.
When and where is Illinois vs. Tennessee?
Tennessee will have home-court advantage in this one. The game will be at Thompson-Bowling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tip-off is at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 9.
How to watch the game
CBS will be the channel broadcasting the Illinois vs. Tennessee game. You can stream the game live through Paramount+ with the SHOWTIME plan. You can get a free trial through the link below, or you can get the package for $11.99 a month.
Stream Men's College Basketball on CBS live with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan. Try it FREE!
Date: Saturday, Dec. 9 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena — Knoxville, Tennessee
TV channel: CBS | Live stream: Paramount+ with SHOWTIME
Illinois vs. Tennessee storylines
Illinois is a hard-nosed team that plays great defense. They only allow 62.4 points per game. Terrence Shannon is the Fighting Illini's best player. Not only is he great on defense, but he is also averaging 21.6 points per game. Shannon was a potential draft pick who chose to come back to school for one more year, and he has been improving his draft stock all season. Shannon is super versatile, and he has led Illinois to a 7-1 record so far. Illinois' only loss of the year came against Marquette, who was ranked fourth at the time.
While the team may lean on defense, they are actually coming off of their best offensive performance of the year. They scored 98 points on a very good Florida Atlantic team in the Jimmy V Classic. Shannon and Marcus Domask both had 33 points each in that game. The two players are the only two players on Illinois' squad averaging double figures in the scoring department. While their defense is elite, the team could use another scoring threat to emerge.
Tennessee appears to be exciting a slump just in time for their contest against Illinois. They lost three straight games before winning their most recent game against George Mason. All of their losses were somewhat justifiable, though.
They lost to Purdue when they were ranked second, Kansas when they were ranked first, and to a North Carolina team that is always one of the best in the nation. A win against one of those teams would have been nice, but the experience they gained in their losses is sure to help going forward.
Tennessee now gets an opportunity against yet another ranked program. While Tennessee's team defense might not be as good as Illinois' defense is, the team does have one of the best individual defenders in the nation. Zakai Zeigler only averages five points per game, but on defense, he is an absolute pest and a master at creating turnovers.
Zeigler is still returning to form after an ACL injury too, so he will only get better. While his offense will improve with time, the team does have plenty of offense around him. Dalton Knecht averages 19 points per game, Santiago Vescovi is a sharpshooter, and Josiah-Jordan James is an experienced scorer in his fifth season with Tennessee.
Both of these teams are coming off of offensive explosions in their last games, but that is not necessarily either team's forte. Expect this game to be a gritty, grind-it-out type of game that comes down to the wire.
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