CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Tennessee made just six field goals in the first half. Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier combined for two points in the second half while fouling out. Igor Milicic missed all eight of his three-point attempts. Felix Okpara didn’t score in nine minutes of action.
The list of stats and circumstances that made a Tennessee victory at Illinois improbable were endless. But the top-ranked Vols prevailed 66-64 anyway, remaining unbeaten as non conference play wanes.
“I’m excited to see the tape because I’m shocked that we were able to get it done, with all that foul trouble,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame. “But these guys found a way to do it.”
Illinois jumped on Tennessee from the offset, scoring the game’s first eight points on its way to leading for just under 24 minutes. The Vols never led by more than four points and appeared toast when Zakai Zeigler picked up his third and fourth foul within two seconds with over 18 minutes remaining in the game.
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Tennessee’s task became even more daunting when foul trouble sidelined Chaz Lanier for seven minutes in the second half. The Vols were down their lone point guard and top scoring guard on the road against a top 25 quality team.
But that’s where Jordan Gainey stepped up, scoring 18 of his Tennessee-high 23 points in the second half while also not turning the ball over while running the point. Gainey got to the basket, finishing through contact and drilled three triples on a night the Vols struggled to get perimeter shots to fall.
“We said, ‘hey, man, we got to come through. You got to do it,’ and he worked really hard,” Barnes said of Gainey.
“This season, you’re going to see different guys in different games are going to have their breakout games,” Tennessee guard Jahmai Mashack said. “I’m telling you, it seems like we have great games already this season but it’s going to get even better and there’s going to be games we surprise some people.”
More From RTI: What Jordan Gainey Said After His Buzzer Beater, Career Performance Against Illinois
Illinois thrice pushed its lead to six points in the second half. With the capacity crowd at the State Farm Center reaching a fevered pitch, it felt like the game was getting away from Tennessee. But each time, Tennessee scored on the ensuing possession.
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Two of those responses came from Darlinstone Dubar who returned from concussion protocol earlier this week to play 16 big minutes for the Vols, making crucial plays on each end of the court.
“If I thought about three plays in a game, one would be Dstones little floater because we were hemorrhaging right there. I mean, he had that little floater,” Barnes said.
“He blocked a shot in the first half. He made a three in the second half and that floater,” Milicic said of Dubar. “I was on the court with him screaming. … Everyone who stepped on the court was valuable.
Even Milicic, who had his worst game of the season offensively, came through in other ways. He grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and battled at the five-spot defensively as Okpara struggled.
Zeigler missed the front end of the bonus with Tennessee up one late before Illinois got to the foul line with five seconds remaining. It once again felt like the game was slipping away. But Kasparas Jakucionis split the two free throws and Gainey played hero, getting down hill and finishing with a right-handed scoop shot on the left side to steal an improbable victory.
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“We’re tough,” Milicic said. “Crowd was loud … we just had to stick together and pull this off. We’re some tough dudes and I think we showed it in this game from the beginning.”
The win almost certainly secures an undefeated non conference record for Tennessee with only a trio of buy games remaining. In a six week stretch that has been filled with a number of impressive surprises and performances, Tennessee winning at Illinois the way they did is one of the most encouraging.
There was no doubt that Tennessee was physically strong, but the Vols proved their mental toughness at Illinois.
Illinois has seen more tornadoes in 2026 than in any year on record.
Following several more tornadoes confirmed this week across the state, Illinois has recorded 143 tornadoes so far in 2026, beating the previous record of 142 tornadoes set in 2024. With reliable records dating back to 1950, Illinois averages just 54 tornadoes per year. But in recent years, the state has experienced many more:
2023: 121
2024: 142
2025: 126
2026: 143 and counting
Unlike 2024, when a record two-day tornado outbreak accounted for a large share of the year’s tornadoes, the activity in 2026 has been spread out across several months.
On Thursday, June 11, a tornado outbreak brought at least 21 confirmed tornadoes to northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, 13 of them in Illinois. Two tornadoes that day — in Streator, Illinois, and Hebron, Indiana — reached rare EF-3 intensity, with winds over 135 miles per hour. Numerous injuries were reported from the storms, but there were no fatalities.
Confirmed tornadoes from June 11:
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Long Point to Streator, IL: EF-3
Wenona/Osage Township, IL: EF-1
Graymont to Dwight, IL: EF-1
Lee, IL: EF-U
Harpster to Elliott, IL: EF-0
Pembroke Township (Leesville), IL: EF-U
St. John to Schererville, IN: EF-0
Paxton/Loda, IL: EF-1
Merrillville to Hobart, IN: EF-2
Ludlow, IL: EF-1
Cedar Lake, IN: EF-0
Schneider to Hebron, IN: EF-0
Watseka, IL: EF-0
Hebron to Kouts, IN: EF-3
Wellington/Prairie Green Township, IL: EF-1
Bartlett, IL: EF-1
Boswell to Atkinson, IN: EF-1
Ade to Mount Ayr, IN: EF-0
Naperville to Lisle, IL: EF-0
Hickory Hills to Garfield Ridge: EF-2
Morocco, IN: EF-0
Though most of the Chicago area dodged severe weather from storms this week, the National Weather Service confirmed a brief tornado touchdown Wednesday night in Lake County near Grayslake. The EF-0 tornado had estimated winds of 80 miles per hour and was on the ground for about a quarter-mile. Damage consisted of several downed or split trees and sporadic minor roof damage along a narrow corridor in the Saddlebrook Farms subdivision.
Four more tornadoes were confirmed Wednesday in western and central Illinois. NWS crews are still surveying damage in central Illinois, and more tornadoes may be added to the count in the coming days.
With 143 tornadoes so far this year, Illinois leads the nation in tornado count for the third time in the last four years — a remarkable statistic for a state not typically thought of as being in Tornado Alley.
The recent increase in tornado activity across Illinois and the Midwest fits research showing a shift in tornado-favorable environments away from parts of the traditional Plains Tornado Alley and farther east into the Midwest and South. Climate change is one likely factor, as warming temperatures are expected to make the Plains hotter and drier overall, shifting tornado ingredients eastward toward the Mississippi River.
BEECHER CITY, Ill. (WAND) – Farms were damaged in Effingham County Wednesday evening when a powerful storm swept through at around 8 p.m.
The McKay Farm in Beecher City was heavily damaged when the rapidly moving storm hit.
“Two buildings were totally destroyed,” Dan McKay told WAND News on Thursday. “We’ve got five grain bins and they’re all damaged.”
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The buildings collapsed onto farm equipment and a semi that were parked in the structures. A utility pole was snapped and ripped out of the ground.
In nearby Shumway, another farm was hit. A barn collapsed, with a grain bin being ripped apart and debris traveling several hundred feet through a nearby corn field. A house on the property was also damaged.
