Tennessee basketball unveils home-and-home series with Illinois for 2023, 2024

Tennessee basketball unveiled its opponent for the team's new Home-and-Home Hoops series in an orange vs. orange battle.

Vols basketball released a statement Tuesday detailing a new series against Illinois. The teams haven't played against each other since December 1988. Tennessee holds a 2-1 all-time record against Illinois, with wins in 1985 and 1967.

The series will begin with a meeting at Thompson-Boiling arena in December 2023 with Tennessee returning to Champaign, Illinois, in December 2024.

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It adds another contest to the Vols' 2023-24 non-conference schedule, which already includes the program's fourth appearance in Maui Jim Maui Invitational, which runs from Nov. 20-22, 2023.

Tennessee currently has a 9-1 record this season and is ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY coaches' poll, while the reigning Big Ten champions are 7-3 and ranked 19th. Following their 56-53 win against Maryland on Sunday, the Vols next play at No. 9 Arizona on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball schedules home-and-home with Illinois in 2023, 2024