Tennessee Basketball: 3 keys to Vols road matchup against Illinois

Owning the nation's longest win streak at 9-0 and the number one ranking in the country, the Tennessee Volunteers have been rolling to start this year's campaign. Rick Barnes' team enters Saturday's showdown especially hot after a 96-70 trouncing of Syracuse and most recently, a 75-62 win over Miami on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden.

Illinois has been up and down lately. A big win over then-ninth-ranked Arkansas, followed by an overtime loss in their Big Ten opener against Northwestern, may have had fans in Champaign wondering how good this team really is. But on Tuesday, the Illini put together a strong performance against #20 Wisconsin to pull out an 86-80 win. They now return to the friendly confines of the State Farm Center on Saturday at 5:30 PM ET on FOX.

Facing a huge test on the road, here are three keys for the Vols on Saturday.

1. Control the Boards

Illinois dominated the rebounding battle in the win over Wisconsin. The Illini pulled down 40 boards to the Badgers' 29. The Vols will need to control the size of the Illinois frontcourt, which boasts the sixth tallest roster in all of college hoops per KenPom.

7'1 Tomislav Ivisic has been a steadying force and when you turn on the TV Saturday night, you'll understand why. He's every bit of 7'1 and can move better than you'd think for a guy his size. He's eclipsed 10 rebounds in each of his last three games, two against ranked teams in Wisconsin and Arkansas.

Tennessee has to find a way to limit him. Igor Milicic and Felix Okpara will likely need to both have extraordinary games to cancel out the Illini frontcourt on the glass.

2. Limit Kasparas Jakucionis

The sophomore from Lithuania has been filling up the box score as the primary ball handler in his first year in Champaign. Averaging 15.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists, he's clearly been the guy on offense. Shooting 44% from three-point range, Jakucionis has been especially good in the pick and roll, working to feed others like Kylan Boswell and Ivisic but still finds ways to retreat to the three-point line to make defenses pay as a scorer in those two-man games.

How Tennessee chooses to guard the freshman will be intriguing. At 6-foot-6, 205 pounds, do the Vols elect to go with Zakai Zeigler and his quickness to be a disruptor on ball despite giving up plenty of size at 5-foot-9, or will we see a mix of Jordan Gainey and Chaz Lanier who matchup better from a size standpoint? Regardless, stopping Jakucionis is a must for Rick Barnes' team to contain the Illini offense that's leaned heavily on the freshman and his balanced game thus far.

3. Feed Chaz Lanier early

Yes, it's as simple as it sounds for the Tennessee offense. Lanier has stepped his offensive game up this season, averaging 19.1 points per game. He's led the team in scoring in six straight contests with his latest 22-point performance coming in the win over Miami on Tuesday.

This Illinois team is no slouch defensively. Brad Underwood's team is allowing 64.4 points per game, which isn't historically low by any stretch, but with the Illini playing at a quicker tempo, it's noteworthy. They bring a level of size and cohesiveness that the Vols have yet to see early on this season. Finding Lanier early looks on the road in what should be a raucous atmosphere would do wonders as this game progresses.

Against an Illinois team that is much better than their unranked status suggests, Lanier will surely need to play like a superstar to bring home a win Saturday night.