Syracuse To Face No. 3 Tennessee In ACC/SEC Challenge

Game Details: Tuesday, Dec. 3, Knoxville, Tenn., 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (4-2) will play its first true road game Tuesday night against No. 3 Tennessee (7-0) as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The contest will air live on ESPN.

Setting The Stage
The Orange improved its record this season at the JMA Wireless Dome to 4-0 last week with an 82-72 victory over Cornell, their 44th straight in the series against the Big Red. Freshmen Elijah Moore and Donnie Freeman combined for 42 points as both set new career highs in the win.

The undefeated Volunteers defeated UT Martin in their most recent outing, 78-35. Before defeating the Skyhawks, won the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship with impressive victories over Virginia and No. 13/14 Baylor. The Volunteers slotted in at No. 3 on Monday in both the AP and Coaches polls.

Tennessee is led by head coach Rick Barnes, who is in his 10^th season with the program. Barnes has guided the Volunteers to six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Syracuse-Tennessee Series
Tennessee holds a narrow 4-3 edge in the series and has won the last three meetings between the teams, which includes a 73-56 victory over the Orange in the quarterfinals of last year's Maui Invitational.

Prior to their meeting last year in Maui, the Orange and Volunteers had not met since 2002. The last Syracuse victory over Tennessee came on Nov. 28, 1993.

Freshmen Ignite Orange
Moore and Freeman propelled the Orange past Cornell in their last outing against Cornell. Freeman recorded his third double-double of the season behind a career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Freeman made eight baskets and went 7-of-7 from the free throw line to lead the Orange in scoring.

Moore dropped a career-best 19 points off the bench, which included 12 in the first half. Moore went 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and also pitched in a career-high seven boards.

Starling Starring
J.J. Starling is Syracuse's top scorer this season and is No. 2 in the ACC in points per game, as the guard is averaging 19.8 per contest. He has scored double figures in all six of Syracuse's games this season.

The junior's 38 points against Youngstown State on Nov. 16 were the most an ACC player has scored in a game this season and the most by a Syracuse player since Cole Swider also had 38 at North Carolina on Feb. 22, 2022. Starling played a career-high 49 minutes and scored 31 of his 38 points in the second half and overtime against Youngstown State.

Automatic At The Line
Over the last two games against Texas Tech and Cornell, Syracuse is shooting 85-percent on free throws (41-of 48). The Orange made a season-high 24 foul shots against Texas Tech and backed it up with 17 makes against the Big Red.

Chris Bell had a perfect 11-of-11 night from the line against the Red Raiders, as the junior set new career highs in makes and attempts. On the season, Syracuse is averaging 16.5 free throw makes per contest, which is more than two what the Orange allow to its opponents.

Double-Doubles
Three different Syracuse players have recorded double-doubles in the team's first six games. Freeman leads the way with three after posting one last week against Cornell. Eddie Lampkin Jr. has two, with the most recent coming against Youngstown State. Jyare Davis also turned in a double-double in the season opener against Le Moyne with his 22 points and 12 rebounds, both of which led the Orange against the Dolphins.

Scouting Tennessee
Chaz Lanier is Tennessee's top scorer this season with 17.7 points per contest. He scored 20+ points in both the team's wins at the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship. Three more Volunteers average in double figures – Igor Milicic Jr. (12.7), Zakai Zeigler (11.7) and Jordan Gainey (10.4).

Milicic Jr. is Tennessee's top rebounder on the season with 6.7 boards per game, followed closely by Felix Okpara (6.6), who also leads the Volunteers with 15 blocks. Zeigler's 55 assists are pacing the Volunteers and Jahmal Mashack has a team-high 15 steals.

As a team, the Volunteers average 81.6 points per game and outscore their opponents by 26.9 points per outing. Tennessee is shooting just over 52-percent from the field this season and outrebounds its opponents by nearly 12 boards per contest.

ACC/SEC Challenge
This year will be the second edition of the ACC/SEC Challenge, which will feature 16 matchups between ACC and SEC teams on Dec. 3 and 4. All 16 games will air live across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network.

Last season, the ACC/SEC Challenge ended in a 7-7 tie. Syracuse defeated LSU, 80-57, at the JMA Wireless Dome as part of last year's Challenge.

Syracuse Against The SEC
This will be Syracuse's second contest against an SEC team this season, as the Orange fell to Texas on Nov. 21 at the UKG Legends Classic, 70-66.

Syracuse has a 33-25 record all-time against all 16 SEC opponents. The Orange have the best record in SEC competitions against Missouri at 5-1. The most common SEC opponent for the Orange is Kentucky, who leads Syracuse in the series, 8-3.

Freeman, Lampkin Jr. Make Preseason Watch Lists
Freeman is one of 20 players to make the preseason watch list for the 2025 Karl Malone Award, which recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men's basketball. Freeman, a McDonald's All-American and the second-highest Syracuse recruit in program history, is one of two freshmen to make this year's Malone Award watch list.

Lampkin Jr. is one of 20 preseason watch-list candidates for the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes to the top center in men's college basketball. Lampkin Jr. is in his first year with the Orange and is averaging 10.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest.

The list for both awards will be narrowed to 10 in late January, and then to just five in late February. In March, the five finalists for both awards will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar, Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where winners will be selected.

Orange fans are encouraged to participate in three rounds of Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, on hoophallawards.com.

Tickets
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on X (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).

Syracuse To Face No. 3 Tennessee In ACC/SEC Challenge

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Players Mentioned

Chris Bell

Donnie Freeman

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

Elijah Moore

J.J. Starling

Syracuse University Athletics