Tennessee basketball will play Illinois at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena in the 2025-26 season, continuing the series after a home-and-home set.

The Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball team will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville this December. Tennessee and Illinois will play on Dec. 6 with the game time to be released at a later date.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee men's basketball team is set to play Illinois in Nashville in December during the 2025-26 non-conference slate.

Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway reiterated his feelings about renewing the Tigers' rivalry with Tennessee.

Ogden has ties to Tennessee and is an elite wing recruit. The 6-5, 180-pound Ogden is the No. 67 prospect nationally. His father, Chris, played for Barnes in 2003 and spent 12 seasons on Barnes' staff at Texas. He followed Barnes to Tennessee for the 2015-16 season before he was hired as the University of Texas-Arlington coach.

It marks the third time since Penny Hardaway became coach in 2018 that the Tigers have freshened up the aesthetic of their home playing surface. The last time came ahead of the 2022-23 season, when Memphis introduced both a new look and an updated floor.

It has been announced that former 4-star power forward recruit Trey Thompson from Greeneville, Tennessee, has reclassified from the 2026 class so that he can join Iowa this fall. On Wednesday, the program relayed that Thompson had reclassified and signed a scholarship agreement with the Hawkeyes.

Tennessee and Illinois have agreed to 2 more meetings in 2025-26 and 2027-28, with both games to be played on neutral floors.

Jana Kahler has been hired to replace Matthew Coble as the TCA girls basketball coach, the school announced July 11.

The Illini will head to Nashville to take on the Volunteers on Dec. 6 in a key early test for a reloaded squad