SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The early part of the college basketball season is prime time for polishing your NCAA Tournament resume with wins against high-profile non-conference opponents.
And for the third straight season the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team will have a chance for a difference-making win against the Tennessee Volunteers as they are slated to meet in the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge on Dec. 2, in the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, the ACC and Syracuse University announced on Thursday.
The Orange, seeking to end their four-year NCAA Tournament drought, hope the third time is the charm against Tennessee. The Volunteers crushed the Orange 96-70 in Knoxville, in last year’s ACC/SEC Challenge. And two years ago, Tennessee handled Syracuse 73-56, in the Maui Invitational in Hawaii.
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The Volunteers hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series with Syracuse.
The Orange return their top two scorers, senior guard J.J. Starling (17.8 points a game) and sophomore forward Donnie Freeman (13.4 points., 7.9 rebounds per game), from its 2024-25 team that posted a 14-19 record. Third-year coach Adrian Autry has added six transfers and five freshmen to the Syracuse roster.
Tennessee played to a 30-8 overall record and reached the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last season. Veteran coach Rick Barnes heads into his 11th season at the helm of the Vols and his 39th as a head coach.
The other 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge matchups will be: Virginia at Texas, Florida at Duke, LSU at Boston College, Georgia at Florida State, Clemson at Alabama, Miami at Ole Miss, Mississippi State at Georgia Tech, North Carolina at Kentucky, Louisville at Arkansas, Missouri at Notre Dame, NC State at Auburn, Texas A&M at Pitt, SMU at Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech at South Carolina, and Oklahoma at Wake Forest.
The SEC dominated the 2024 ACC/SEC Challenge last December, winning 14 games, while the ACC won only 2 contests. That lopsided result was a factor in the SEC getting a record-breaking 14 bids to the 2025 NCAA Tournament in March while the ACC had only 4 teams make the dance.
