No. 3 Tennessee Basketball vs. Syracuse: How to Watch, Betting Odds, Prediction

No. 3 Tennessee Basketball vs. Syracuse: How to Watch, Betting Odds, Prediction | Rocky Top Insider

Posted by Admin December 2, 2024 Basketball

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Tennessee basketball returns to the court on Tuesday night when they host Syracuse in Knoxville as part of the SEC-ACC Challenge.

The Vols are up to No. 3 in the AP Poll after going 7-0 in November with three wins over power five opponents. Syracuse is struggling entering the matchup and is looking for its first marquee win of the season.

Here’s everything to know about the matchup between power five foes.

G Jaquan Carlos

G JJ Starling

F Donnie Freeman

F Jyare Davis

F Chris Bell

What Tennessee AHC Justin Gainey Said About The Orange

On if Syracuse is much different in Year 2 under Adrian Autry, compared to what Tennessee faced last season in the Maui Invitational

“Yeah, they are. I think they are. They seem to be, again, he was just taking it over last time we played them. And this year, you could tell he’s starting to implement kind of his philosophies and what he wants to do. And I think his guys are responding. Obviously everybody at this time of year is trying to figure themselves out and figure out who they are. But they’re tough. They guard, not only zone but in man. And they have some guys that are more than capable of having big nights. So they feel to be a more connected group this year.”

On Felix Okpara facing Syracuse’s Eddie Lampkin— a big, strong guy

“I think the biggest challenge would be post position. And him maybe not being able to get him as deep as he would like off the initial duck ins for his initial catch. So he’s gonna have to work in different ways to get his catches where he wants them. So that’s something that we’ve been studying on film. He’s been studying on film, and he’ll be prepared to attack and Felix is strong as well. You know? He may be a little more wiry, but I mean, he’s got some wiry strength and he’ll be able to create some angles and kinda do what he does.”

Team Statistics (via KenPom)

Tennessee:

Syracuse:

Tennessee:

Points: Chaz Lanier — 17.7 PPG, 46.9 FG%, 49.1 3PT%

Rebounds: Igor Milicic — 6.7 RPG, 4.7 DRPG, 2 ORPG

Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 7.9 APG, 3.6 TOPG, 33 MPG

Syracuse:

Points: JJ Starling — 19.8 PPG, 46.8 FG%, 29 3PT%

Rebounds: Donnie Freeman — 9.2 RPG, 8 DRPG, 1.2 ORPG

Assists: Eddie Lampkin — 3.2 APG, 2.7 TOPG, 27.3 MPG

Last Five Games

Tennessee:

78-35 win versus UT Martin
77-62 win versus Baylor (Bahamas)
64-42 win against Virginia (Bahamas)
103-68 win versus Austin Peay
92-57 win versus Montana

Syracuse:

82-72 win versus Cornell
79-74 loss against Texas Tech (New York City)
70-66 loss against Texas (New York City)
104-95 win versus Youngstown State (2OT)
74-72 win versus Colgate

Prediction

A year after going on the road to face North Carolina in the ACC-SEC Challenge, the Vols aren’t getting the same treatment this season as they prepare to host a Syracuse team that is one of the worst teams in power five early in the season.

The theme of the year so far for Syracuse is close games as the Orange have earned close wins against overmatched foes at home as well as close losses against a pair of solid power five teams on a neutral floor. However, Syracuse has not faced a test as challenging as Tennessee this season and this one is on the road.

Two aspects of this game I’m curious to see how they unfold are turnovers and Tennessee’s offensive rebounding. The Vols are great at turning foes over but have had some turnover issues themselves. Syracuse does not turn it over much but they also don’t force many turnovers. Then on the glass, Tennessee is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country but Syracuse is the top defensive rebounding team. How those battles shape up will largely decide how the game goes.

I think Tennessee wins this one relatively comfortably but Syracuse covers the spread.

Tennessee 78, Syracuse 62