Rick Barnes would likely disagree, but Tennessee hasn’t shown any glaring weaknesses in its first nine games of the season.

The Vols are unbeaten and the No. 1 team in college basketball. They’ve won every one of those games by double digits, including two-straight against power conference teams.

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On Saturday, they will face their biggest non-conference test yet.

Tennessee (9-0) will play in just its second true road game against Illinois (7-2) at State Farm Center in Champaign in the second installment of a home-and-home series between the two teams.

The Vols won the first matchup, 86-79 in Knoxville in December 2023.

Tennessee is coming off a convincing win against Miami in the Jimmy V Classic in New York City. The week before that, the Vols routed Syracuse in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Their resume also includes blowout wins over Louisville, Virginia and Baylor.

The Fighting Illini are a fringe top 25 team currently. They have received votes in the latest AP poll and are off to a 1-1 start in Big Ten play after beating No. 20 Wisconsin in their most recent outing. Illinois' two losses were to No. 8 Alabama and Northwestern on the road.

The Vols are a slight road favorite, favored by 1.5 points and KenPom projects them to win, 74-71.

Here is everything you need to know about the matchup.

Who: No. 1 Tennessee (9-0) at Illinois (7-2)

When: Saturday, Dec. 14 | 5:30 p.m. ET

Where: State Farm Center | Champaign, Illinois

TV: FOX (Jeff Levering, play-by-play; Robbie Hummel, analyst)

Radio: Vol Network (Bob Kesling, play-by-play; Steve Hammer, analyst)

Series: Fifth meeting all-time (Tennessee leads, 3-1)

KenPom Projection: Tennessee 74, Illinois 71

POINTS PER GAME

Illinois 86.2

Tennessee 82.4

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE

Tennessee 52.1%

Illinois 44.4%

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE

Tennessee 37.7%

Illinois 33.6%

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Former SEC coach gives props to Tennessee basketball's Jahmai Mashack

REBOUNDS

Illinois 46.6

Tennessee 38.3

ASSISTS

Tennessee 17.3

Illinois 15.8

BLOCKS

Tennessee 5.6

Illinois 4.8

-- Tennessee and Illinois are meeting for the fifth time and the second time in two years after the two teams didn't play for 35 years. The Vols hold a 3-1 edge in the series and each game has been won by the home team. Tennessee won in Knoxville in 1967, 1985 and 2023 while the Fighting Illini won the only other meeting in Champaign in 1988.

-- Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes can go above .500 vs. Big Ten teams in his career on Saturday. Barnes is currently even at 40-40 against teams from the conference and he is 7-8 with the Vols overall and 6-5 in the regular season. Tennessee went 2-1 vs. Big Ten teams in the regular season last year with wins over Wisconsin and Illinois and a loss to Purdue.

-- Tennessee is one of 14 power conference teams in college basketball that will have played two true road games against other power conference teams this season by the end of Saturday. The Vols previously played at Louisville in just their second game of the season last month. Tennessee won, 77-55.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Zakai Zeigler takes center stage at the Garden in Vols' triumph of Miami

-- Tennessee passed its first test as the No. 1 team in college basketball with its win over Miami. The Vols took the top spot this week for just the third time in program history and the second time since February 2019. Tennessee is 9-2 all-time as the top-ranked team in the AP poll and is 8-1 under Barnes. Saturday will be the first time ever that the Vols have played a non-conference road game as the No. 1 team.

-- Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier continues to be the headliner on the offensive end of the floor. Lanier is averaging a team-high 19.1 points per game and 23.4 points over his last five games. He has scored 18 or more points in seven of the Vols' first nine games and 22 or more in four games.

-- Illinois finished 29-9 last season and reached the Elite Eight. The Fighting Illini, who were tabbed fourth in the Big Ten preseason media poll, are led in scoring by freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis. He is averaging 15.4 points, 5.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game in nine games.

Source: Tennessee and Illinois game notes

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