Syracuse basketball looks to snap a three-game losing streak when the Orange hosts No. 13 Tennessee on Tuesday night in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge.
This is the third straight season that the 'Cuse will face the Volunteers. The Orange is just 3-5 in its all-time series with Tennessee, per SU Athletics, and the Vols have won four in a row over Syracuse basketball.
The 'Cuse (4-3 overall) and Tennessee (7-1 overall) are scheduled to tip off at 7 pm EST on December 2 from the JMA Wireless Dome, with ESPN2 providing television coverage. When I wrote this article, the Volunteers were a 6.5-point betting favorite on the road, with the over/under set at 145.5 points, according to FanDuel.
Syracuse basketball will be without its leading scorer against Tennessee.
Donnie Freeman, the sophomore power forward who was leading the 'Cuse in scoring at 17.8 points per game through the team's first four contests, will not play versus the Volunteers due to a lower-body injury that also kept him out of last week's Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
The 6-foot-9 Freeman, hopefully, will return to the court soon. Head coach Adrian Autry has said he doesn't think that Freeman's current injury is a season-ending one. For the Orange to have a realistic shot at hearing its name called on Selection Sunday next March, the team will need Freeman back.
Both Syracuse basketball and Tennessee were at the Players Era Festival last week. The Orange nearly picked off highly ranked Houston, fell by 11 points to Kansas, and then got smoked by top-15 Iowa State.
The Vols, meanwhile, beat Rutgers and Houston but lost by five points to Kansas. Tennessee has made consecutive Elite Eights during March Madness under head coach Rick Barnes. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Volunteers were projected to finish at No. 3 in the loaded Southeastern Conference.
Tennessee averages about 11 more points per encounter than the 'Cuse, and the Volunteers also hold a big edge on the glass. Tennessee, additionally, shoots much better than the Orange from beyond the arc and at the free-throw line.
Where Syracuse basketball can do some damage is in the turnover department. The Vols commit 12.8 miscues per game, and the 'Cuse will want to convert Tennessee turnovers into easy fast-break and transition points.