Jordan Gainey sinks wild buzzer beater to lift no. 1 Tennessee past Illinois

It took a long drive 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 victory 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 for a shot before overtime in what was a big non-conference game. Gainey, after catching the inbound pass, immediately sprinted up the court and went straight for the hoop.

After traveling the entire floor, Gainey somehow fought through everyone and got the layup up and in before the buzzer, sparking a huge celebration from the Vols and silencing the Illini crowd.

It pushed the Volunteers to a perfect 10-0, marking their best start since the 1999-2000 campaign.

The game was close all the way on 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 on a Jahmai Mashack layup, then failed to make another field goal for the next five minutes to allow the Illini to hang in there.

Tennessee, after falling by three at its most, finally tied the game back with a Gainey 3-pointer with just more than two minutes left. It set off a long back and forth until the final seconds.

While Illinois had a chance to seal the deal in regulation, Kasparas split Jakucioni’s free throws after drawing a foul that could have won them the game. Instead, it left the score tied and set up Gainey’s game-winner.

Jakucionis led Illinois with 22 points and three rebounds 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 fell to 7-3 with the loss, which marked its second in the last three games. The Illini beat Wisconsin no. 20 on Wednesday after dropping a game to Northwestern last week. They take on Missouri next Sunday.

Gainey finished with a team-high 23 points off the bench while shooting 6-of-14 from the field, his best 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 the schedule before SEC play begins on Jan. 4, starting with Western Carolina on Tuesday. While it’s still early days, Rick Barnes’ group at Tennessee — even without star Dalton Knecht this fall — seems more than capable of hanging with Alabama in the SEC this season. And for now, the Vols will get to keep their No. 1 position for another week.