Tennessee basketball’s opponent is set for this year’s ACC-SEC Challenge. The Vols will face Syracuse for the second straight season, traveling to upstate New York to face them this season. The exact date is not yet set.
Tennessee hosted Syracuse last season at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center, annihilating the Orange 96-70 behind Chaz Lanier’s 26 points, Zakai Zeigler’s 14 points and eight rebounds as well as Igor Milicic’s 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Syracuse went on to have a terrible season, posting 14-19 record. Despite being a power five matchup, the Orange did little to assist Tennessee’s resume and ended up being only a Quad 3 win.
Adrian Autry is entering his third season as Syracuse’s head coach and while the Orange should be improved this season, there’s little pointing to them being a legit top 25 team if even a NCAA Tournament contender.
Tennessee is 1-1 in the previous two years of the challenge, losing at North Carolina in 2023 before whomping Syracuse last season.
The issue with the ACC-SEC Challenge is the same as its been the last two years— there are far more quality teams in the SEC then there are in the ACC. For the second straight year, Tennessee got the short end of the stick and will play a lesser opponent.
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Florida at Duke, North Carolina at Kentucky, Clemson at Alabama and Virginia at Texas are amidst the other top matchups. Tennessee host Louisville in a non conference matchup in December, taking that potential matchup out of consideration.
The Vols now have non conference matchups set at Syracuse, home versus Louisville and against Illinois in Nashville. Tennessee will also played three games as part of the Players Era Tournament.
Tennessee basketball underwent a major roster overhaul this offseason, losing four of its starters from last season and five of its top six rotational players. The Vols do return key front court pieces Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips as well as JP Estrella who missed last season due to injury. Rick Barnes and his staff also went out and landed Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey out of the transfer portal.
In the backcourt, Tennessee returns reserve guard Bishop Boswell but made major additions to its roster through the transfer portal and recruiting ranks. The Vols landed Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Louisiana Tech shooting guard Amaree Abram.
Out of the prep ranks, Tennessee added five-star wing Nate Ament, four-star wing Amari Evans, four-star center DeWayne Brown, French wing Clarence Massamba and three-star point guard Troy Henderson to its roster.
Tennessee projects as a top 25 team again next season and has the potential of a top 10 team if things come together well.
