KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The No. 14 Tennessee men’s tennis team defeated Illinois, 4-2, Saturday afternoon in the opening round of ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Vols dropped the doubles point, but the singles part of the match was filled with some intense competition.

No. 14 Tennessee (4-1) defeated Illinois (0-1), 4-2, on Saturday at Goodfriend Tennis Center in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Alejandro Moreno earned a win for Tennessee with a, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, victory on court five.

Tennessee has a penchant for fouling 3-point shooters at a seemingly high rate, especially for a team that relies on senior guards. It committed a season-high three fouls on 3-point shooters at Illinois in December, with two by Mashack. Zeigler had one ...

Tennessee dropped the point in doubles to start the afternoon, but came back to win four points in singles. The Vols saw Jan Kobierski and Alan Jesudason step up when they were down early in doubles, but Tennessee lost two close matches to give Illinois the point.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Brandon Weston scored 20 points as Tennessee State beat Eastern Illinois 84-65 on Saturday night. Weston shot 3 for 5 (2 for 3 from 3-point range) and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line for the Tigers (7-12, 3-5 Ohio Valley Conference). Carlous Williams scored 15 and Antoine Lorick III added 11 points and eight rebounds.

Illinois is ranked 18th in the new AP Top 25 poll, released Monday. The Illini (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten) also are 20th in the coaches' poll.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

BOTTOM LINE: Kooper Jacobi and Eastern Illinois visit Brandon Weston and Tennessee State in OVC play Saturday. The Tigers are 5-3 in home games. Tennessee State is fourth in college basketball with 39.8 rebounds led by Weston averaging 5.3.

Nebraska looks to break a long losing streak as we continue our College Basketball odds series with an Illinois-Nebraska prediction and pick.

The Vols likely would catapult onto the No. 1 seed line with a win at Auburn, but it would carry weight beyond the immediate effect on bracketology. A win at Auburn would give Tennessee two marquee road wins on its NCAA Tournament profile come Selection Sunday. The other was a 66-64 win at Illinois On dec. 14.

The Tennessee State Tigers (9-12, 5-5 OVC) play the Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-13, 2-8 OVC) in a clash of OVC squads at 8:00 PM ET on Thursday. The game airs on ESPN+. Advertisement Article ...

Kentucky visits Tennessee in Knoxville! Let's continue our College Basketball odds series with a Kentucky-Tennessee prediction and pick.