It took a long driving layup through plenty of traffic at the buzzer, but Jordan Gainey saved the day for Tennessee on Saturday night.
Gainey lifted top-ranked Tennessee to a stunning 66-64 win over Illinois at the State Farm Center in Champaign. The Volunteers, with about five seconds left on the clock and the game tied, had one last chance at a shot before overtime in what was a great non-conference battle. Gainey, after catching the inbounds pass, immediately sprinted up the court and went right for the hoop.
After traveling the full length of the floor, Gainey somehow fought through everyone and got the layup in before the buzzer sounded, which sparked a huge celebration from the Vols and silenced the Illini crowd.
That pushed the Volunteers to a perfect 10-0, which marked their best start since the 1999-2000 campaign.
The game was tight the entire way Saturday, but Tennessee both fell into foul trouble and then largely shut down offensively when it mattered most. The Volunteers scored just after the seven-minute mark of the second half off a Jahmai Mashack layup, and then failed to make another field goal for the next five minutes to allow the Illini to hang in there.
Tennessee, after falling down by three at its peak, finally tied the game back up with a Gainey 3-pointer with just more than two minutes left. That set up a long back-and-forth until the final seconds.
While Illinois had a chance to seal the deal in regulation, Kasparas Jakucionis split free throws after drawing a foul that could have won them the game. Instead, that left the score tied and set up Gainey’s game-winner.
Jakucionis led Illinois with 22 points and three rebounds on Saturday. Kylan Boswell finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Tre White added 11 points. They shot just 4-of-23 from the 3-point line as a group.
Illinois dropped to 7-3 with the loss, which marked its second in its last three games. The Illini beat No. 20 Wisconsin on Wednesday after dropping a game to Northwestern last week. They’ll take on Missouri next Sunday.
Gainey finished with a team-high 23 points off the bench while shooting 6-of-14 from the field, which was his best output since landing in Knoxville. The senior, who transferred in from South Carolina Upstate before last season started, entered Saturday’s game averaging just 10.3 points per game.
Chaz Lanier added 17 points for the Vols, and Igor Milicic finished with seven points and 14 rebounds. Tennessee has three games left on its schedule before SEC play starts Jan. 4, starting with Western Carolina on Tuesday. While it’s still early, Rick Barnes’ group in Tennessee — even without star Dalton Knecht around this fall — seems more than capable of hanging with Alabama in the SEC this season. And for now, the Vols will get to retain their No. 1 ranking for another week.
