Jordan Gainey wasn’t in the mood for overtime.

So, the Tennessee senior guard did something about it in the final, frantic seconds of Saturday’s game at Illinois. After Kasparas Jakucionis tied the game at 64-64 by making the 2nd of 2 free throws with 5 seconds left, Gainey inbounded the ball, got it right back and then raced end to end before making an acrobatic layup as the buzzer sounded to lift the top-ranked Volunteers to a thrilling 66-64 victory.

Forget about overtime, Gainey said, as his teammates mobbed him after the winning shot. Gainey rescued the still-unbeaten Volunteers (10-0) at the end, and his 3-pointer with 2:25 left got Tennessee even at 62-62, so Gainey seemed to be building toward the game-ending moment.

Gainey had a thrill for the dramatic on Saturday in Champaign, and he scored a game-high 23 points in 34 minutes off the bench in helping Tennessee escape the upset. Gainey shot 6-of-14 from the field, made 3-of-6 from 3-point territory, including the 1 that tied it at 62-62 late in the 2nd half, and he made 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Gainey added 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in the heroic performance in hostile territory.

Although Gainey always plays a lot of minutes, the 34 minutes he played Saturday were his most played of the season, and fortunately for Tennessee, he was on the floor in the final seconds to rescue the Volunteers and presumably keep them No. 1 in the country come Monday.