Syracuse basketball seeking to change its recent fortunes against Tennessee

Maybe it is a jinx from Louie and Bouie famously upsetting Bernie and Ernie in the first round of the 1977 NCAA Tournament.

Despite back-to-back Syracuse victories in a home-and-home series with the Vols at the beginning of the 1992 and 1993 seasons (two games in which the late, great Lawrence Moten had a team-high 21 and 29 points, respectively), it has been all Vols in this series this century.

Syracuse and Tennessee have averaged one hoop meeting every five years in the 2000s

While Orange fans no doubt know Rick Barnes has been leading UT for awhile (his 11th season), we bet not many folks can name the Tennessee coach when they faced SU in a home-and-home series in 2000-01 and 2001-02. It was actually two different Vols head coaches.

In 2000, Tennessee was coached by Jerry Green. No. 4 ranked UT came to the Dome with a 9-1 record for a late December, Friday night affair against an Orange team that had opened up with nine straight victories, including the Great Alaska Shootout (over Missouri) and the Carrier Classic (over Virginia Tech).

Despite DeShaun Williams scoring 20 points, SU struggled on the glass and with foul trouble dropping an 83-70 decision to snap the winning streak.

The same thing happened the following season in Knoxville, when the Volunteers were led by new coach Buzz Peterson (following Green's resignation). Tennessee snapped the 8th ranked 'Cuse's seven-game winning streak, defeating an Orange team that had won the Preseason NIT (over Wake Forest).

With Jim Boeheim back on the sideline for his eighth game after missing three that December recovering from prostate surgery, SU came back from a 17-point halftime deficit to take a brief lead with just over 9:00 to play, before the Vols held on in their loud homecourt atmosphere by hitting late free throws in a 66-62 victory.

Fast forward to the third consecutive season of the Orange meeting the Vols

The 2023 Maui Invitational bracket came out in July of that year, and it pitted Syracuse and Tennessee in a first-round game in Honolulu (moved due to the Maui wildfires). After winning the Maui title in 1990, 1998, and 2013, the poor-shooting (35%) Orange suffered their first-ever loss in the event, trailing the entire way in a 73-56 defeat.

In last year's SEC-ACC Challenge game between the schools in Knoxville, it was SU's first true road game, and it ended up a dud. UT expanded its lead to double-digits in the game's first six minutes, a margin it did not relinquish in a 96-70 rout. Elijah Moore had his best scoring game in his one-year Orange career with 24-points off the bench.

It is hard to know all the factors that came into the ACC and ESPN deciding that these two teams should meet again in the ACC-SEC Challenge series this season. Especially in a year in which SU was going to play at home in the event, and in which both teams had committed to the Player's Era Festival.

But here we are come Tuesday night in the Dome (7:00 p.m. ET / ESPN2), with Tennessee coming in 2-1 after the Vegas games beating Rutgers and Houston, and losing to Kansas. The game is arguably the most important in Red Autry's three-year tenure, desperately needing to garner a Quad 1 win to bolster the team's NCAA resume before ACC play gets underway.

Also, why not help rinse the taste of that 45-26 Orange football loss in August to the Vols, at the same time.

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