Cade Phillips (12) rises above a Syracuse defender during a game at Food City Center. Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. Cole Moore/RTI

The tipoff time and broadcast details are set for one of Tennessee basketball’s premier non conference games. Tennessee travels to Syracuse for the ACC-SEC Challenge on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Tipoff at JMA Wireless Dome is at 7 p.m. ET and ESPN2 is broadcasting the game.

It’s the third straight year that Tennessee will meat Syracuse on the hardwood and the second straight season that the Vols will face the Orange in the ACC-SEC Challenge.

A season ago, Tennessee hosted Syracuse at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center, annihilating the Orange 96-70 behind Chaz Lanier’s 26 points, Zakai Zeigler’s 14 points and eight assists as well as Igor Milicic’s 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Syracuse went on to have a terrible season, posting 14-19 record. Despite being a power five matchup, the Orange did little to assist Tennessee’s resume and ended up being only a Quad 3 win. Adrian Autry is entering his third season as Syracuse’s head coach and while the Orange should be improved this season, there’s little pointing to them being a legit top 25 team if even a NCAA Tournament contender.

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Two years ago, Tennessee knocked off Syracuse 73-56 in its opening game at the Maui Invitational. Dalton Knecht and Josiah-Jordan James led the Vols with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Tennessee is 1-1 in the previous two years of the challenge, losing at North Carolina in 2023 before whomping Syracuse last season.

Tennessee’s matchup against Syracuse is one of six marquee non conference matchups on its 2026-27 schedule. The Vols host Louisville at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center and travel to Nashville to face Illinois in Devember. Tennessee will also travel to Las Vegas for the Players Era Tournament where they’ll face Rutgers, Houston and a third team that is not yet set.

The Vols will open up its 2025-26 campaign again Mercer on Nov. 3 at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville. Tennessee projects as a top 25 team again next season and has the potential of a top 10 team if things come together well.