Tennessee basketball won in dominating fashion over Syracuse, 96-70, in the SEC/ACC Challenge in Knoxville on Tuesday night.
It didn’t take long for the Vols to take control of the game. They jumped out to an early six-point lead and never looked back. By the end of the night, Tennessee improved to 8-0 for the first time since 2001.
There weren’t many highlights for Syracuse, now sitting 0-3 against Quad 1 opponents this year. However, for Tennessee basketball, nearly every player scored or picked up at least one rebound.
This was the lowest-scoring game for Syracuse since its loss to Texas on Nov. 21, just one week ago, when the Orange fell 70-66. Still, the Orange reached a new season-high bench point, 35, topping the 32 scored against Cornell on Nov. 27.
Tennessee Takeaway #1: Emergence of Cade Phillips
Tennessee’s sophomore power forward made a few appearances last season but didn’t play any major minutes during his freshman year. With the Vols’ star-filled lineup last season, Phillips watched his teammates play for most of the season, occasionally nailing a dunk or sinking some free throws while wearing Tennessee orange.
Against the Orange, Phillips showed off why he was a consensus four-star forward.
With the season-ending injury of forward JP Estrella, Phillips stepped up to the plate. He scored 12 points against Syracuse in 23 minutes of game time, blocking two shots and picking up six rebounds in the process. He was simply a big part of Tennessee’s defensive success over Syracuse.
Phillips was given a technical foul against the Orange, but his performance let Tennessee fans know he’s someone to keep an eye on as he develops throughout this season and beyond.
Tennessee Takeaway #2: Points in the Paint
Although being a team that is known for shooting a plethora of shots from behind the arc, the Vols dominated the points in the paint category. They outscored the Orange 44-28.
With Zakai Zeigler’s penetration into the paint and dump-offs and lob passes to forwards Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips, Tennessee is successful around the rim. They will look to continue this success as they prepare for conference play.
Syracuse takeaway #1: Elijah Moore steps up
Without JJ Starling, who could Syracuse rely on? The Orange are without their top-scoring guard for at least a few weeks, after it was announced Starling broke his left hand.
With that major piece of the Orange’s offense gone, someone on Syracuse’s roster had to step up to help boost the team’s offense. Elijah Moore was the answer.
In 30 minutes of game time, Moore dropped a team-high 24 points against the Vols, including shooting 50% from beyond the arc. Moore also recorded three rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
The young freshman’s biggest game of his collegiate career happened to be against one of the best teams in the country. While there might not be a ton of positives for the Orange to take away, Moore’s performance — especially his ability to handle a tough road environment like Knoxville  — is certainly a highlight of the game.
Moore’s increased his scoring over the last three games, going from eight points against Texas Tech to now a career-high 24. He now averages 9.1 points per game after his performance against the Vols.
Syracuse takeaway #2: Free throw plague returns
The lack of free throws was yet again a problem for Syracuse.
It made just three of its 10 first free throw attempts and made 12 by the end of the game. Moore, who was Syracuse’s best performer against Tennessee, made five free throws,s, and Jyare Davis made three — but those two were the only ones with significant success at the charity line.
Donnie Freeman also made four free throws out of five attempts, but aside from the trio’s small success, none of the Orange either made it to the line or even made just one free throw.
The Orange will play some very aggressive teams in ACC play come January and could find themselves needing clutch free throws to win a conference game. Right now, it’s difficult to tell which Syracuse player could be a guarantee if they’re sent to the line.
It’s December, so sure, the argument of it being the first half of the season exists but it’s quickly wearing thin. This is a problem Syracuse has had since its season opener, and could easily continue to be a problem moving forward if not corrected soon.