Tennessee basketball is back on the road Tuesday night when they’ll face Syracuse in the ACC-SEC Challenge. The Vols are looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season and win their first true road game of the 2025-26 season.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup from the broadcast details to the betting odds and much more.
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How to Watch — No. 13 Tennessee (7-1, 0-0 SEC) at Syracuse (4-3, 0-0 ACC)
- Start Time: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
- Location: JMA Wireless Dome
- Watch: ESPN2. PxP: Wes Durham, CC: Dennis Scott
- Online Streaming: WatchESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
- Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Mike Keith, CC: John Wilkerson
Betting Odds
- Tennessee -6.5 Syracuse
- Over/under 145.5
- Tennessee -7 Syracuse
- Over/under 149
Probable Starters
Tennessee (via UT Game Notes):
Syracuse (via SU Game Notes):
Everything Tennessee HC Rick Barnes Said About Syracuse
On scouting a team like Syracuse early in the season
“By now we have enough film, obviously we just came out of a tournament where I think they had the toughest schedule out in Vegas, I mean, three of the hardest games, and they competed extremely high level. Totally different team. And again, I’m impressed with Coach Autrey and what he’s doing, how he’s, again, putting his team together. And they took Houston to overtime and they’re a good basketball team. But they’re getting back just like we have. I’m sure they cleaned up some things, like we had to clean up some things, maybe added a couple things here or there. But I think they are probably going to have a pretty good beat on us and we feel like we’ll probably have a pretty good beat on them. But we’ll still have to make some adjustments as we go through the game.”
Where They Land In Rankings
Tennessee:
- AP Poll: No. 13
- Coaches Poll: No. 13
- KenPom: No. 13
- Bart Torvik: No. 10
- EvanMiya: No. 14
Syracuse:
- AP Poll: NR
- Coaches Poll: NR
- KenPom: No. 71
- Bart Torvik: No. 60
- EvanMiya: No. 71
Team Stats (via KenPom)
Tennessee:
Syracuse:
Stat Leaders
Tennessee:
Points: Ja’Kobi Gillespie — 18.5 PPG, 43.2 FG%, 35.3 3PT%
Rebounds: Nate Ament — 7.6 RPG, 5.6 DRPG, 2 ORPG
Assists: Ja’Kobi Gillespie — 5.3 APG, 2.8 TOPG, 31.6 MPG
Syracuse:
Points: Kiyon Anthony — 11.9 PPG, 44.3 FG%, 22.2 3PT%
Rebounds: William Kyle III — 8 RPG, 4.7 DRPG, 3.3 ORPG
Assists: Naithan George — 5.6 APG, 2.9 TOPG, 30 MPG
Last Five Games
Tennessee:
- 81-76 loss versus Kansas (Las Vegas)
- 76-73 win versus Houston (Las Vegas)
- 85-60 win versus Rutgers (Las Vegas)
- 89-60 win versus Tennessee State
- 91-66 win versus Rice
Syracuse:
- 95-64 loss versus Iowa State (Las Vegas)
- 71-60 loss versus Kansas (Las Vegas)
- 78-74 loss versus Houston (Las Vegas) [Overtime]
- 78-73 win versus Monmouth
- 80-50 win versus Drexel
Prediction
Tennessee and Syracuse are both looking for a win after leaving Las Vegas on a sour note. The Vols let a game get away against Kansas to end the week while Syracuse went 0-3 despite playing pretty well in its first two games.
I’m most curious to see how Tennessee responds defensively after a poor showing against Kansas and half a week to watch film of the performance. The Vols have some limitations on that side of the court but I expect them to be locked in on that end of the court.
Two other areas to watch. One, Syracuse is a small team and has not rebounded well this season. The Vols should be able to control the glass in this game. However, the Orange are great at forcing turnovers. Tennessee did a much better job taking care of the basketball last week. Let’s see if Tennessee can keep it up.
Tennessee 80, Syracuse 72
