Syracuse suffered a 31-22 loss to Georgia Tech, leaving them needing a win against Wake Forest to secure a bowl berth. The basketball team also faced a defeat, losing 73-56 to No. 7 Tennessee in the Maui Invitational. Judah Mintz and JJ Starling struggled for Syracuse, and the team had difficulty making free throws and grabbing rebounds.
No. 7 Tennessee opens Maui Invitational by topping Syracuse https://t.co/ZxnWpZ7g6l https://t.co/j1wKtIud6T
Syracuse needed to rebound much better than it did against Tennessee. Sometimes, Adrian Autry said, seeing evidence of what coaches keep saying finally resonates. https://t.co/Ikr4To6N05
Judah Mintz and JJ Starling struggled to finish plays and make shots here in Honolulu. The Orange relies on those two so much to initiate offense. And Tennessee was determined to stop them. https://t.co/6HIdPahJJo
Syracuse basketball loses first game of season to Tennessee https://t.co/iaodDvyXGt
Syracuse menโs basketball: Orange lose steam in 73-56 loss to #7 Tennessee in Maui Invitational debut https://t.co/oQJOkBxBCn via @DominicChiappo2
No. 7 #Tennessee pulls away late to beat #Syracuse 73-56 in the opening game of the @MauiInv. #Gonzaga faces Vols with a win against #Purdue, would play Orange with a loss.
Tennessee outscored Syracuse by 28 points in the 34 minutes Josiah-Jordan James was on the floor. Syracuse outscored Tennessee by 11 points in the six minutes Josiah-Jordan James was on the bench.
Judah struggled and Syracuse could not make enough second-half plays to beat Tennessee. The Orange couldnโt make free throws or grab enough rebounds. Or get any second-half offensive flow. https://t.co/LztlGp6zaA
Tennessee stood on business vs. Syracuse https://t.co/uBXAXV4XQH
NO. 7 TENNESSEE WINS OVER SYRACUSE ๐ด The Vols take the opening game of the @MauiInv to continue a strong start to the season ๐ https://t.co/eAPxgQyfIE
Tennessee 73, Syracuse 56 A lot closer than the final score indicated, but a strong start nonetheless for the Vols. Gonzaga-Purdue up next! https://t.co/RHMInscAEk
Not a great offensive performance, and obviously a bunch to clean up. But Iโm feeling much more optimistic about this Syracuse basketball team than I have in a while after that game against a very good Tennessee team.
Tennessee wears down Syracuse and scores the last 12 points of the game in a 73-56 win.
FINAL IN HAWAII: No. 7 Tennessee 73, Syracuse 56. No Tobe Awaka (ankle), no Freddie Dilione (foot), no Dalton Knecht for most of the second half with cramps, no problem. #Vols play either Purdue or Gonzaga tomorrow. Either way, a banger.
Tennessee is gonna win, but hard not to come away from this game encouraged if you're Syracuse. Showed some really nice things defensively, continue to get non-Mintz/Starling guys involved, and fought back several times from down big. Still in on Cuse as a potential NCAAT team.
Vescovi is really stepping up in the second half for Tennessee with Knecht still on the bench. He has six points and four assists this half. Vols hanging on to a 63-56 lead with 2:24 to play here in Honolulu.
Judah Mintz and JJ Starling: 20 pts, 6/22 shooting (!!), 1/3 from 3, 7/12 on FTs, 6 assists to 8 turnovers And Syracuse is STILL very much in this game. Been impressed with the Orange's defense, making life hard for Tennessee and forcing turnovers.
#Vols 50, Syracuse 45, 7:32/2ndH. Tennessee's Jahmai Mashack to the line for one-and-one after this media timeout on the floor.
Foul count: Cuse 16, Tennessee 11 Orange foul trouble: Benny Williams 3 Judah Mintz 3 JJ Starling 3 Bell, Cuffe, Brown w 2 each
Syracuse is 4-12 from the free throw line
This has been an ugly game, but Tennessee to this point has completely taken Syracuse star Judah Mintz out of it.
Foul count: Syracuse 14 Tennessee 8
Tennessee with 3 straight turnovers and SU closes to within 38-35.
#Vols 38, Syracuse 29, 15:30/2ndH. Tennessee still nowhere near full gallop, but it's playing better and its physicality is starting to wear on the Orange. Media timeout on the floor.
Two turnovers forced. Josiah-Jordan James three. Aidoo dunk and-1. Just like that, #Vols up 11 on Syracuse, early 2ndH.
Tennessee is up five on Syracuse at the half despite getting two points combined from Zakai Zeigler (who's still on a minutes restriction) and Santiago Vescovi. When Rick Barnes gets those guys going, the Vols could have the highest ceiling in the country.
Tennessee went 5-of-15 at the rim in the first half. Vols seem to be getting better quality shots. They start finishing and they should be able to create some separation. But Syracuse's length is tough.
Syracuse didn't have any field goals the final 5:39 in the first half against Tennessee. #Vols defend like maniacs. That's never in question.
Bad close to the half. Tennessee leads 30-25. Good news? Syracuse hung in with Mintz benched with two fouls. Bad news? Offensive and defensive breakdowns in the final eight minutes.
Tennessee closes the half on a 19-to-6 run and leads 30-25. SU really struggling to get quality shots vs Vols' defense. Judah Mintz sat the last 12 minutes due to fouls.
Tennessee just played about as bad as they will for the first 10-12 minutes of this game... and still leads Syracuse by five at the half. This is a DAMN good basketball team ๐ค๐
Tennessee closes with a 9-1 run to lead 30-25 at the half.
Syracuse has survived 8 minutes with Judah Mintz on the bench. (He played 3:30 minutes after picking up his 2nd foul). Would be huge if Orange can finish out the rest of the half and bring Mintz back in the 2nd half.
Syracuse and Tennessee are both struggling to make shots; both teams playing great D. But UT has 8 2nd-chance points. Mintz remains on bench with 2 fouls.
Knecht has Tennessee's last six and the Vols are within 1.
Syracuse is making 75.8% of its FTs this season, but the Orange is 3-for-8 so far today against Tennessee. I'll leave the rest to @BrentAxeMedia
Two fouls on Mintz. Bad news for Syracuse.
An unfortunate 2nd foul on Judah Mintz. There's still 15:26 left in the first half.
That's two fouls on Judah. with 15:26 left in the first half.
Tennessee leads by one after a Chris Bell splash from the corner. Judah will shoot 3 after the break. He was fouled on a 3-point attempt. UT has committed four fouls in fewer than five minutes.
Tennessee's D is tough, but Chris Bell hits a corner 3 to bring Orange within 5-4.
Syracuse wearing its home white uniforms with Syracuse in script. Tennessee in its orange road uniforms.
Both Andrew Carr and Zach Keller with two fouls each with 6:32 left in the first half.
No. 7 Tennessee surfs into Honolulu for Maui opener with Syracuse https://t.co/I9uTzspSVU https://t.co/uhLy3wOG4R
Syracuse football can't run to victory at Georgia Tech (Postgame) https://t.co/yCtMdX9TBg
Syracuse football: Orange canโt replicate Wildcat success in 31-22 loss to Georgia Tech https://t.co/hNSjX9ZTLJ via @MOstrowski_
Syracuse couldn't run to victory this time, losing 31-22 to Georgia Tech and now have to beat Wake Forest next week to get bowl eligible. Some quick takes on the loss https://t.co/Kzo6H4tLsA