SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team fell to Syracuse, 62-60, Tuesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.
Junior forward Jaylen Carey paced all scorers for No. 13 Tennessee (7-2) with a career-high 22 points in the second consecutive ACC/SEC Challenge matchup between the two schools.
The Volunteers missed their first six shots as Syracuse (5-3) scored five of the opening six points, but Carey helped right the ship. He made five of his opening seven field-goal attempts, including logging the team’s first make of the game, to help Tennessee go ahead, 16-15, with 8:15 left in the first half.
The two sides continued to trade baskets the rest of the frame, as the contest stayed within a six-point margin. The Orange took a 32-30 lead into the locker room after a buzzer-beating putback layup by sophomore forward Tyler Betsey, but it was redshirt senior guard Nate Kingz who did most of their damage. He made six of his first seven shots, en route to tallying 19 first-half points.
Early in the second session, Syracuse went on a 10-1 run in 2:47, started with eight straight points, to claim a game-best nine-point advantage, 44-35, with 14:16 to play. Tennessee, however, soon responded with a 10-0 surge in 3:01—it featured six points from Carey to give him 18 at that time—to go in front, 51-50, with 8:38 to play. The Orange, 65 seconds later, snapped a 4:17 scoreless drought with two free throws and then 25 seconds after that ended a 4:42 skid without a basket to take a 54-51 edge at the 7:08 mark.
The Volunteers went back ahead on a corner 3-pointer by Nate Ament with under four-and-a-half minutes to play. Syracuse, though, answered soon thereafter with a 3-pointer by senior guard J.J. Starling. He then hit a jump-shot the next time down the floor to give the Orange a 60-56 lead with 2:05 to go.
Tennessee roared back to level the score at 60, first with a layup by Carey with 1:14 remaining and then with a runner by sophomore guard Bishop Boswell with 38 seconds left. Senior forward William Kyle III put Syracuse ahead by a point by making the second of two free throws with 13.8 ticks to play. The Volunteers missed a shot at the other end and then Syracuse freshman forward Sadiq White Jr., hit a free throw with 0.7 on the timer for the final point of the night.
Carey’s career-best performance came on 10-of-16 field-goal shooting and he also grabbed nine rebounds to co-lead all players. Ament scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds, while senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 10 points and a game-high seven assists.
Kingz did not score—or even attempt a shot—in the second half and finished with a team-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Orange. Starling had 12 points, while Kyle and White added 10 apiece. Kyle posted a game-best six blocks, while White had a co-game-high nine rebounds and a game-leading three steals.
The Volunteers had a 40-28 advantage in paint points and a 32-9 cushion in bench scoring, but the Orange amassed a 24-10 margin in points off turnovers despite only forcing one more (17) than they committed (16). Syracuse also registered a 9-0 edge in fast-break points.
Tennessee is back in action Saturday at 8 p.m. ET when it squares off with No. 14/15 Illinois at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., live on ESPN.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• The Volunteers wore “Dark Mode” uniforms Tuesday, their third time wearing black in program history, alongside a Dec. 3, 2024, home win over Syracuse and a Feb. 8, 2025, road victory at Oklahoma.
• Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes coached his 350th game at the helm of the Volunteers and is now 239-111.
• The Volunteers fell to 5-4 in their all-time series with the Orange, with this the third consecutive year the teams have met.
• Tennessee and Syracuse’s three matchups over the last three years are in three different locations, with the Volunteers winning the prior two.
• After starting 1-3 in its series with Syracuse, Tennessee is now 4-1 this century, with Tuesday the first such setback.
• Tennessee dropped its record to 126-102 all-time versus the current ACC membership, including moving to 15-6 under Barnes, who is 85-78 against such foes in his career.
• The Volunteers are now 14-3 versus ACC schools other than North Carolina in Barnes’ 11-year tenure at the helm.
• The Volunteers fell to 8-2 against ACC competition over the last five seasons (2021-26), with their five-game winning streak coming to an end.
• As announced prior to tip-off, redshirt sophomore forward J.P. Estrella did not play due to a right ankle injury sustained Nov. 26 against Kansas in Las Vegas.
• Kingz’s 19 first-half points marked the most in a frame by a Tennessee foe this year, far surpassing the 15 by Kansas’ Elmarko Jackson after the break in a Nov. 26 matchup in Las Vegas.
• The six made field goals by Kingz also tied the top total in a half by a Tennessee opponent in 2025-26, matching the second-half count by Houston’s Kingston Flemings in a Nov. 25 game in Las Vegas.
• Tennessee claimed its first successful challenge of the season—the rule is new this year—on an overturned goaltending call with 3:47 left in the game.
• Both teams shot under 44.0 percent from the field, under 31.0 percent from 3-point range and under 60.0 percent from the line.
• Kyle became just the second player in Barnes’ tenure (2015-26) to log six-plus blocks against the Volunteers, joining Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet, who did so in a Feb. 22, 2017, road game.
• Over the last eight seasons (2018-26), the only other Tennessee opponent with even five-plus blocks against the Volunteers is Florida’s Omar Payne, who hit that mark in a Jan. 19, 2021, home game.
• Carey, who recorded his first 20-point performance as a collegian, has now scored double-digit points in each of the last three games after posting a high of nine in the first six outings of the season.
• The 22 points for Carey set a new season best, eclipsing the 13 he scored in a Nov. 25 victory over No. 3/2 Houston in Las Vegas.
• Carey’s prior career best of 18 points came on two occasions during his tenure at Vanderbilt, as he hit that mark on both Feb. 8, 2025, against Texas and on Feb. 15, 2025, at Tennessee.
• The two previous outings in which Carey made a then-career-high eight field goals came on Dec. 3, 2023, versus Keystone, while at James Madison, and on Feb. 8, 2025, versus Texas, while at Vanderbilt.
