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No. 14 Illinois beats No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 in Music City Madness

Teresa M. Walker

No. 14 Illinois beats No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 in Music City Madness | iNFOnews.ca
Illinois center Tomislav Ivisic (13) shoots the ball over Tennessee forward Nate Ament (10) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tomislav Ivisic and Keaton Wagler each scored 16 points and No. 14 Illinois beat No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 Saturday night in the second part of the Music City Madness.

The Fighting Illini (7-2) came in rested after an eight-day break with this their last of four Top 15 opponents over a seven-game stretch. Illinois snapped a five-game skid on neutral courts against ranked opponents and also gave coach Brad Underwood his first win in three tries against Tennessee.

Illinois is averaging 90.4 points a game this season after leading the Big Ten in scoring last season. Leading scorer Kylan Boswell went to the bench in the opening minutes grabbing at his left shoulder. He returned and finished with 15 points.

David Mirkovic added 10 for the Fighting Illini.

Tennessee (7-3) has lost three straight after going 30-8 last season and reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie led Tennessee with 15 points. Freshman Nate Ament, who has been averaging 17.1 points a game, finished with nine.

The Vols never led by more than two and had their last lead at 49-48 on a dunk by J.P. Estrella when Illinois went on a 15-3 spurt started by Andrej Stojakovic’s layup taking the lead back for good, and Boswell’s layup with 6:55 to go put the Fighting Illini up 63-52. Illinois pushed that to as much as 14 in the final minutes.

Illinois controlled much of the first half. Ivisic scored the last 10 of the half for the Fighting Illini, but the Vols finished the half on an 11-4 run with Cade Phillips’ layup with 51 seconds left putting Tennessee up 34-32 at halftime.

Up next

Illinois: At Ohio State on Tuesday night.

Tennessee: Hosts No. 6 Louisville on Dec. 16.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

No. 14 Illinois beats No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 in Music City Madness | iNFOnews.ca
Illinois guard Mihailo Petrovic, right, collides with Tennessee forward Nate Ament, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
No. 14 Illinois beats No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 in Music City Madness | iNFOnews.ca
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood yells to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
No. 14 Illinois beats No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 in Music City Madness | iNFOnews.ca
Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie (0) reaches for the ball as Illinois guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) drives to the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
No. 14 Illinois beats No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 in Music City Madness | iNFOnews.ca
Illinois guard Keaton Wagler (23) shoots the ball past Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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The Associated Press

Teresa M. Walker

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.

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