The Syracuse University men's basketball team earned a much-needed victory on Tuesday night, toppling No. 13 Tennessee 62-60 in the ACC/SEC Challenge at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The win is a major one for the Orange, who ended a three-game losing streak and earned a massive Quad 1 win which can help boost a potential NCAA Tournament resume later on in March.

Adrian Autry's team also won without leading scorer Donnie Freeman, who missed his fourth straight contest with a right foot injury.

Syracuse is 5-3 on the season, while Tennessee is now 7-2.

Here's what you need to know:

Upperclassmen step up

It was one of our keys to the game in Tuesday's preview, and it bore out in this contest. The upperclassmen needed to step up, and step up they did.

Senior Nate Kingz delivered his best game of the season, scoring 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while senior William Kyle III added 10 points and seven rebounds.

J.J. Starling, who continues to work back from a right leg injury suffered in the season opener, scored 12 points, including five big ones in the last three minutes. He was 5-of-10 from the floor.

Inside the box score

--Syracuse had four players in double-figures, including freshman Sadiq White Jr., who had 10 on 4-of-10 shooting.

--Syracuse had no answer for Tennessee big man Jaylen Carey, who led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting.

--The Orange shot 43 percent from the floor while the Volunteers shot 41 percent.

--Neither team shot well from three-point range, as the Orange were 5-of-19 (26 percent) and Tennessee was 31 percent (4-of-13).

--Syracuse was out-rebounded by four (38-to-34).

--Tennessee committed 17 turnovers while Syracuse committed 16.

--Tennessee had 40 points in the paint, vs. 28 for Syracuse.

--Tennessee had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but the shot was off.

Also need to know

Even without Freeman, Syracuse continued to play with the defensive tenacity that has become a hallmark of this team. It wasn't always pretty, but Syracuse was able to muddy the waters for Tennessee offensively and force them into tough shots, bad shots and several turnovers.

Room for improvement

Once again, shooting of all kinds.

Syracuse was just 5-of-19 from three-point range (26 percent) and 13-of-22 from the free-throw line. Luckily for them, the Volunteers were only 8-of-15 at the stripe. Syracuse is ranked 361st out of 361 in the nation in free-throw shooting percentage.

Also, Syracuse got almost nothing from its bench, scoring only nine points in that area. Kiyan Anthony had seven and Tyler Betsey had two.

Up next

Syracuse will be off until Dec. 11 when they take on St. Joseph's at 9 p.m. ET. That game will also be played at the JMA Wireless Dome, as the Orange don't leave Syracuse for the rest of 2025.

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