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Illinois’ Brad Underwood on Facing Tennessee: ‘What Better Way to Prepare?’

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Illinois’ Brad Underwood on Facing Tennessee: ‘What Better Way to Prepare?’


One of the most-discussed topics around Illinois basketball over the past six months or so – aside from the team’s roster turnover and brilliant first-year talent – has been the schedule. Coach Brad Underwood knew that his 2024-25 Illini would have a chance to be very good – but likely with a small window in which to do it. He knew he needed to test them early.

Two more things: First, he knew Tennessee coach Rick Barnes. who led his teams to 17 consecutive NCAA Tournaments across stints at Clemson and Texas, and for whom Underwood had a front-row seat while serving on the Kansas State staff from to 2007-2012. And the other thing?

Underwood knew that iron sharpens iron.

So when he got together with Barnes to schedule the Volunteers for Saturday’s game at Champaign’s State Farm Center (4:30 p.m. CT, on FOX), Underwood had no idea they would be lining up a marquee weekend-afternoon matchup with the No. 1 team in the country. Many of the pieces just fell into place. What the Illini coach knew was that the Vols gave him a chance to line up his guys against some of the toughest mugs he knew in a Pizza Hut parking lot throwdown.

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“To be really honest, when Rick and I set the this up, I jumped at it,” Underwood said after Illinois’ Tuesday home win over Wisconsin. “I couldn’t wait, because I have I’ve known Rick for a long time, knowing when he was at Texas and in the [Big 12] and had [Kevin] Durant and that whole crew, and I know how hard he gets his teams to play. I know how demanding he is as a coach. He’s won so many games. He’s won at every stop. So what better way to prepare my team?”

If somehow that had slipped below Underwood’s radar previously, he got a reminder last season, when his then-20th-ranked Illini visited Knoxville and took their lumps against the then-No. 17 Vols, who outrebounded Illinois and held it to 35.4 percent shooting from the floor to win 86-79.

“It was a hard fought game. They won. And, you know, he’s always going to have a good team,” Underwood said of Barnes, whose 815 career wins ranks him No. 13 on the all-time list. “He’s got resources. He’s got guys back. What better way to help us? And it just so happens now that they’re No. 1. You know, they were always going to probably be top 10.

“But that’s the tremendous respect I have for Rick and the job he’s done. And I think it’s a great opportunity for our basketball team to play against a great team, who just happens to be No. 1.”

Knocking off the NCAA’s top-ranked team – which Illinois has pulled off only three other times in its history – would be fun for the fans and a hell of an attention-grabbed for recruits and the NCAA Tournament committee. Underwood knows, among other things, the importance of those factors.

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“But they’re also a team that can be in that national championship conversation,” he said.

And as he has become so fond of saying, that’s the new standard in Champaign. If the Illini want to be part of that conversation, here and now is where and when they prove it.

How to Watch: Illinois Basketball vs. No. 1 Tennessee (Game 10)

ESPN Prediction for Illinois Basketball vs. No. 1 Tennessee

Key Matchup: Illinois vs. Tennessee – the Battle of the Backcourts



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Tennessee Tech member to participate in Artemis mission

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Tennessee Tech member to participate in Artemis mission


Kid Rock spoke with News 2 after his social media post about military helicopters flying over his home went viral. An Army investigation is underway into the viral video, showing what appears to be Apache helicopters flying close to Kid Rock’s Nashville home.



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Tracking every Tennessee Titans pre-NFL draft visit for 2026

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Tracking every Tennessee Titans pre-NFL draft visit for 2026


The 2026 NFL Draft is less than a month away, which means it’s time to start paying extra close attention to the Tennessee Titans’ moves and visits.

In the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, teams are allowed to bring up to 30 prospects to their facilities for visits with coaches and executives, on top of the meetings coaches, scouts and executives can hold with prospects on college campuses after pro days.

Pre-draft meetings aren’t everything; seven of the nine players the Titans drafted in 2025 never took reported visits or meetings with the team prior to being picked. But touch points like these are interesting looks into the team’s thought process as far as which positions need to be evaluated and which players merit closer looks.

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Based on player comments, social media posts and national reports, here is a running track of which players have visited or are expected to visit with the Titans, sorted by player rank in the consensus player rater.

Tennessee Titans NFL draft 2026 visits tracker: Which best draft prospects available are talking with the Titans?

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (No. 4 prospect)

Love visited the Titans’ facility shortly after the conclusion of his impressive showing at the NFL combine, according to posts he made on social media.

Rueben Bain Jr., DL/Edge, Miami (No. 7 prospect)

Bain told CBS Sports following his Miami pro day workout that he had a visit scheduled with the Titans. Bain also met with the Titans at the NFL combine.

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Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (No. 9 prospect)

Tate told reporters after Ohio State’s pro day that the Titans are among the five teams he has scheduled visits with. Other teams picking in the top 10 who have Tate on their radar include the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.

Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU (No. 10 prospect)

Per a report from Ryan Fowler, the Titans scheduled a visit with Delane, the consensus pick for the top cornerback in this draft class.

Makai Lemon, WR, Southern Cal (No. 14 prospect)

The reigning Biletnikoff Award winner as college football’s best wide receiver, Lemon has a visit scheduled with the Titans, per a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M (No. 32 prospect)

Concepcion, an impressive field stretcher out of Texas A&M, told reporters at his pro day that the Titans are one of six teams he has scheduled meetings with. Concepcion is considered a fringe first-round pick who might be gone or might be ripe for the picking when the Titans use their second-round pick at No. 35.

Caleb Banks, DL, Florida (No. 35 prospect)

Banks told reporters after Florida’s pro day that he had a visit scheduled with the Titans, along with visits to Kansas City, Baltimore, Detroit, Arizona, Denver, Atlanta and the Chargers.

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Treydan Stukes, CB, Arizona (No. 65 prospect)

Stukes told Sports Illustrated that he took a meeting with the Titans, putting him on the radar as a potential third-round pick candidate.

Tristan Leigh, OT, Clemson (No. 271 prospect)

Leigh, a three-year starter at left tackle for Clemson, has visited with the Titans, per a report from Fowler.

Travis Burke, OT, Memphis (No. 354 prospect)

Burke is a bottom-of-the-draft offensive lineman prospect who visited with the Titans, per Sports Illustrated’s Justin Melo.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at  nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.



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What we learned as Vanderbilt baseball sweeps Tennessee for first time since 2013

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What we learned as Vanderbilt baseball sweeps Tennessee for first time since 2013


For a Vanderbilt vs Tennessee baseball rivalry already full of lore, the Commodores added a unique chapter with their weekend series at Hawkins Field.

Vanderbilt (17-12, 5-4 SEC) won all three games via walk-off: 3-2 win in 10 innings on March 27; 6-5 in 16 innings on March 28, and 16-15 on March 29. The final game ended with an “ultimate grand slam” by Tommy Goodin while down three in the bottom of the ninth inning to sweep the 21st-ranked Vols (18-10, 3-6).

The three games were all different, with the opener being a pitchers duel between Connor Fennell and Tennessee’s Brandon Arvidson and Tegan Kuhns. The second game was a marathon in which each team had one five-run inning. In the third game, pitchers on both sides were still feeling the effects of the previous game as Vanderbilt won a high-scoring shootout.

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“Emotionally, that’s probably going be my biggest concern,” coach Tim Corbin said. ” . . . It’s a lot of baseball. But I think the strength is these kids are young. They’ve got a day to get back, kind of get their body back a little bit, to stay away from here. There’s a ripple effect that takes place from playing three games, emotionally draining and tough games.”

Here’s what we learned.

Vanderbilt’s offense comes through when it needs to

Vanderbilt this season has often struggled to get the big hit, constantly leaving runners stranded. This weekend, the Commodores were able to come through with timely hits. Brodie Johnston recorded eight hits in the series, including a home run, while Ryker Waite had two doubles and a home run among his four hits.

Different players came through in every big situation. In Game 1, Logan Johnstone had the walk-off single. In Game 2, Mike Mancini and Ryker Waite both hit home runs and Mack Whitcomb had the walk-off squeeze bunt. In Game 3, Johnston and Rustan Rigdon hit home runs, while Johnstone, Chris Maldonado and Whitcomb each had a pair of RBIs.

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Vanderbilt hit for plenty of power, too, with four doubles and six home runs in the series. The Vols had three doubles and two homers.

“It was a wild series,” Corbin said. “Polarizing, no doubt, felt that way, too. I think that’s why it becomes very emotional, because you have periods of not moving the ball and periods of moving the ball. So always comes down to timely hits, doesn’t it?”

Vanderbilt finds bullpen contributors

With six pitchers injured, including Austin Nye, who is out for the season, Vanderbilt has struggled to get production out of its bullpen. While that group was up and down throughout the series, the Commodores got significant production out of a few arms they hadn’t in the past.

In Game 2, freshman Tyler Baird pitched five scoreless innings, walking two and striking out four. Going into the outing, he’d had an ERA of 6.89, with 12 walks in 15⅔ innings, and hadn’t lasted even an inning last week against Mississippi State. Replacing him, fellow freshman Nate Schlote threw three scoreless innings, with two walks and three strikeouts. In Game 3, Jakob Schulz threw 3⅔ scoreless innings, with one walk and two strikeouts.

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“That’s really what it is, you’re pitching for the first few times in the conference, you get tentative,” Corbin said. “(Baird) was tentative against Mississippi State. But I also know that that bus ride was probably a long one for him, and (pitching coach Scott Brown) did a good job of grabbing him right away, like a little small car accident, getting him back in the driver’s seat again to drive, and he did. Made a good adjustment.”

Vanderbilt gets back on track

The Commodores were reeling entering the week. They’d lost five straight games, including getting swept at Mississippi State. There were questions of whether they would even make the postseason.

Now they are in a better spot. With new contributors in the bullpen and the offense stepping up, Vanderbilt can feel better heading to Texas A&M for a weekend series April 3-5.

“I think it’ll be very huge,” Goodin said. “I think this is a very big, big boost . . . This definitely could be a really good turning point for all of us. And, you know, really going in there and playing at the caliber that we play at, just like this, it’s awesome.”

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

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