After starting the season 7-0, Tennessee basketball has dropped two straight games. The Vols fell to unranked Syracuse by a score of 62-60 in a true road game in the ACC-SEC Challenge on Tuesday night.
Despite Jaylen Carey’s career-high 22 points, Tennessee just wasn’t good enough offensively against the Orange. The Vols trailed by two points with nine seconds left, but Carey’s final attempt in the paint hit the rim and bounced off.
Tennessee shot 41.4% from the floor in the game and 30.8% from the three-point line. The real kicker was going 53.3% from the free-throw line, though. Tennessee also had 17 turnovers in the game.
Tennessee guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished the game with 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while freshman wing Nate Ament ended with 11 points on 2-of-10 shooting. UT center Felix Okpara had two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Tennessee will finish out its five-game road stretch with a game in Nashville against Illinois in Music City Madness on Saturday night in Bridgestone Arena. The Vols will look to get back on track after back-to-back losses, but the 14th-ranked Fighting Illini won’t go down easily.
More From RTI: Three Quick Takeaways As Tennessee Basketball Lays Egg In Loss To Syracuse
After the Syracuse game, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media to discuss his reaction to the game. Check out the full postgame press conference below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
