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.

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.

Tennessee ranks as the most effective and efficient defense in the country, per KenPom. There isn’t an offense this season the Volunteers haven’t been able to handle. For a few examples, Rick Barnes‘ team held Florida to 12 points under its season average,

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.

Saturday's OVC slate includes the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (10-11, 5-5 OVC) against the Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-15, 1-8 OVC), at 4:00 PM ET on ESPN+. Advertisement Article continues below ...

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.

BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Illinois aims to end its four-game losing streak with a victory against Tennessee State. The Tigers have gone 5-3 in home games. Tennessee State is 3-2 when it turns the ball ...

Thursday's OVC slate includes the Tennessee State Tigers (9-12, 5-5 OVC) meeting the Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-12, 2-7 OVC) at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN+. Advertisement Article continues below ...

BOTTOM LINE: Tennessee State hosts Eastern Illinois after Aaniya Webb scored 20 points in Tennessee State's 76-70 loss to the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars. The Tigers are 3-3 in home games.

Tennessee faces Auburn. Our college basketball odds series has our Tennessee Auburn prediction, odds and pick for Saturday.

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

Illinois freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. dunks over Northwestern center Keenan Fitzmorris on Sunday. Johnson produced 15 points and nine rebounds in the Illini’s 83-74 win in Champaign. Scott Richey covers college basketball for The News-Gazette. His email is [email protected], and you can follow him on Twitter ( @srrichey ).