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Syracuse’s trip to Las Vegas came and went, yet it still lacks a big-time win on its resume. Following a 4-0 start against squads from bottom-tier conferences, the Orange faced three Quad 1 opponents without leading scorer Donnie Freeman.

Despite pushing then-No. 3 Houston to its limit, SU came up short versus the Cougars before two more losses to Kansas and then-No. 15 Iowa State. With the Players Era Festival in the rearview, Syracuse has some work to do. It begins with another Quad 1 opportunity, this time at home.

The Orange take on No. 13 Tennessee in the ACC/SEC Challenge Tuesday. The Volunteers carved through Rutgers and defeated Houston, but fell by five to Kansas in Vegas.

Here’s everything to know about Tennessee (7-1, Southeastern) before its matchup with Syracuse (4-3, Atlantic Coast) on Tuesday:

All time series

Syracuse trails 5-3.

Last time they played

The Orange traveled to Knoxville on Dec. 3, 2024, in hopes of a monumental upset versus then-No. 3 Tennessee. Instead, the Volunteers snagged an early lead and never surrendered it, resulting in SU’s 96-70 loss.

Syracuse leading scorer J.J. Starling was ruled out with a broken left hand just hours before the game. In Starling’s place, Elijah Moore scored a career-high 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting, while even Chance Westry saw some rare minutes. However, none of it mattered as the Volunteers tallied five scorers in double figures, led by Chaz Lanier’s game-high 26, to steamroll the Orange.

KenPom Odds

Syracuse has a 27% chance of winning, with a projected score of 78-71.

The Volunteers report

Tennessee is in its 11th season under head coach Rick Barnes and is on pace to make its sixth-straight NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers won 30 games a year ago and fell on the doorstep of the Final Four to Houston in the Elite Eight by 19 points to then-No. 2 Houston.

Barnes replenished his squad this offseason, tasked with replacing top scorers Lanier and Zakai Zeigler, after both turned to the professional game. Tennessee brought in senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Maryland and top freshman Nate Ament to replace their production. J.P. Estrella and Felix Okpara also developed into bigger roles, while Jaylen Carey came over from Vanderbilt.

The Volunteers won their first seven games before their loss to Kansas. Through the seven-game winning streak, Tennessee knocked off six nonconference foes by 15 or more points and beat Houston by three just a day after the Orange fell short in overtime.

Gillespie has led the charge for Barnes with over 18 points per game to accompany 5.3 assists. He ranks as the seventh-best player in the country, per EvanMiya CBB Analytics, with an 8.53 BPR. Five Volunteers are averaging 4.5 or more rebounds per game, and their 45.6% offensive rebound rate ranks second in the nation, per KenPom. The Vols’ 121.7 adjusted offensive efficiency is also 18th in the country.

Defensively, Tennessee is holding opponents to a 43.1% effective field goal rate. The mark ranks 18th nationally, just behind Syracuse. The Volunteers make it difficult for players to score inside the arc at a 43.1% clip. Once again, the Orange will have their hands full.

Sophia Burke | Digital Design Director

How Syracuse beats Tennessee

The easy answer here would be if Freeman was returning. But he’s not. While SU held strong against Houston, Freeman’s absence clearly hurt it on both ends of the floor versus Kansas and Iowa State. With Freeman out again versus Tennessee, William Kyle III must once again step up as an inside presence.

Still, the Orange can pull off their first Quad 1 win of the season if they take advantage of their shooting opportunities and don’t turn the ball over. Syracuse ranks 290th in 3-point shooting (29.3%) and third-to-last from the charity stripe at a staggering 57.1%. Point guard Naithan George turned the ball over six times against Houston and added seven more versus Iowa State.

That simply can’t happen against the Volunteers, who only average 7.8 steals per game. If SU makes some shots, limits its turnovers and holds Gillespie down, it could be in line for an upset.

Stat to know: 3-20

Through Autry’s 72 games as Syracuse’s head coach, 23 have come against Quad 1 opponents. In those opportunities, the Orange have failed to establish themselves among the best of the best. Following SU’s trip to Las Vegas, it’s now 3-20 in Quad 1 games under Autry.

Syracuse went 0-10 in Quad 1 contests last season, but only two came with Freeman and Starling in the lineup. The Orange dropped those two by a combined nine points. The absence of Freeman in the Players Era Festival again broke up the duo. SU’s matchup with the Volunteers is another Quad 1 opportunity and likely its last until at least New Year’s Eve.

Player to watch: Nate Ament, forward, No. 10

While Gillespie is lighting it up with a team-high 18.5 points per game, Ament has emerged as the clear No. 2 in command. The freshman out of Manassas, Virginia, is averaging 17.9 points per game with a team-high 7.6 rebounds. Ament dropped 20 points against both Rutgers and Kansas in Las Vegas.

At 6-foot-10, Ament has an over-7-foot wingspan and has added 20 pounds since signing with the Volunteers in April. He was nationally regarded as a top-five recruit in the 2025 class and, thus far, has lived up to the hype.

Published on December 1, 2025 at 9:05 pm
Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky