No. 14 Illinois Tops No. 13 Tennessee 75-62

In Nashville, Tennessee, No. 14 Illinois defeated No. 13 Tennessee 75-62 on Saturday night in the second game of the Music City Madness at Bridgestone Arena. The victory improved Illinois to 7-2 on the season and snapped a five-game losing streak against ranked opponents on neutral courts.

Tomislav Ivisic and Keaton Wagler led the Fighting Illini with 16 points each, while Kylan Boswell added 15 points after briefly leaving the game in the opening minutes with a left shoulder issue. David Mirkovic contributed 10 points as Illinois forced 13 Tennessee turnovers and limited the Volunteers to 31.6 percent shooting from the field.

The game remained close through much of the second half until Illinois pulled away with a decisive 15-3 run. Tennessee held its last lead at 49-48 with 11 minutes remaining, following a dunk by J.P. Estrella. Andrej Stojakovic's layup sparked the surge, giving Illinois the lead for good, and Boswell's layup with 6:55 left extended the advantage to 63-52. The Fighting Illini then pushed the margin to 14 points in the closing minutes.

Illinois controlled the first half's tempo but trailed 34-32 at the break after Tennessee closed with an 11-4 run capped by...