Syracuse Basketball: 'Cuse and Tennessee are creating a fun Orange-clad mini rivalry

The Orange-clad teams are meeting on the court yet again.

On Wednesday, CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein reported that Syracuse basketball will host Southeastern Conference member Tennessee at the JMA Wireless Dome as part of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge. A source confirmed this news to me on Wednesday as well.

Fun.

While some 'Cuse fans are bummed about this repeat match-up, I love it. But my feelings are personal in nature, as my son adores the Volunteers, so it's a fun game for us. By the way, he also likes Syracuse basketball, but Tennessee is higher up on his list.

The date, tip-off time and broadcast information for the Vols at the 'Cuse should be released soon by the two conferences, along with the rest of the match-ups in this annual event.

Syracuse basketball and Tennessee are playing in this year's ACC/SEC Challenge.

In the 2024-25 campaign, the 'Cuse got crushed on the road by highly ranked Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. In last season's ACC/SEC Challenge, the Southeastern Conference dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference to the tune of a 14-2 overall result.

The SEC was fabulous in 2024-25, and one of its members, Florida, won the national championship. The Gators will head to Duke in the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge, with both schools expected to contend for a national title in the 2025-26 term.

A stanza ago, the Vols went 30-8 overall, reached the Elite Eight and finished as the No. 5 team in the country, according to the Associated Press and Coaches top-25 polls. Looking ahead to 2025-26, the Volunteers are likely to be a preseason top-25 squad and contend for a high seed in the 2026 Big Dance.

In 2023-24, at the Allstate Maui Invitational in Honolulu, Syracuse basketball also fell to a highly rated Tennessee group. In their all-time series together, the 'Cuse is just 3-5 against the Volunteers, and the Orange has lost four straight in this non-conference battle.

Hopefully, SU Athletics will announce the 'Cuse non-conference docket soon for the 2025-26 season. As I've noted a few times lately, Syracuse basketball will have 13 non-conference encounters while its number of ACC affairs will drop from 20 to 18.

The Orange will have several games at the name, image and likeness-driven Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Syracuse basketball won't be playing Georgetown in 2025-26, so I'm curious what the remainder of the 'Cuse non-conference calendar will entail.

Oh, and let's not forget that Syracuse football, coming off a 10-win season, will kick off its 2025 campaign by going toe to toe with Tennessee in late August at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.