The blueprint for an Illinois win against Tennessee

Illinois travels to Nashville on Saturday night for a matchup against Tennessee. Both teams are ranked inside the top 20-ranked teams, both in the AP poll (ILL: 14, TENN: 13) and KenPom (ILL:17, TENN:16). Each enters coming off frustrating offensive performances, both barely cracking 60 points. If you watched last year’s heart-wrenching, last-second finish against the Vols, you probably expect another rock fight. Unfortunately, that’s often what happens when teams play Tennessee.

Rick Barnes’ teams always look the same: physical, elite defensively, and relentless on the glass. This year is no different. If Illinois is going to get its revenge this year, it will be earned, not given.

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In ways, they are very similar to this year’s Illini team. Both rebound at an extremely high level, and both play at slower tempos; neither has been particularly amazing from 3-point range, though Illinois certainly attempts more of them. Neither offense has yet taken that big leap of every-game consistency. Although I think many would agree, there is far more potential yet to be realized in Illinois’ offense.

However, let’s take a closer look at Tennessee’s profile to better understand what makes this premier SEC team tick and where they are vulnerable.

Tennessee: What They Actually Do Well:

Offensive rebounding and scoring at the rim

Tennessee is the best offensive rebounding team in the country, averaging roughly 18 second-chance points per game. Most of their shot attempts originate at the rim (36.4% of their total attempts) because of the constant rebounding pressure and their commitment to interior scoring.

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Assists from half-court execution

They rank 16th in the nation in assists with 19.2/game. Generating scoring through structure, not isolation. Illinois, by comparison, sits far behind at 147th in assists at just 14.3 per game. Yikes.

They defend all three levels

The Vols are elite defensively. Above average is the opponent’s FG% at all three levels….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/blueprint-illinois-win-against-tennessee-043506790.html

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Publish date : 2025-12-06 04:35:00

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