No. 8 Tennessee (4-0) defeated Syracuse (3-1), 73-56, on Monday in the Maui Invitational opening game.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with media after the contest.
“Really tough, hard-fought game,” Barnes said. “Really proud of our older group at the end when we had some different situations, turned it over in ways that we normally don’t and shouldn’t. I thought our older guys, guys that had been in a lot of big games, Josiah was terrific today, his rebounding, Jonas came back big on the glass. Our older guys defensively were locked in, did a lot of good things for us, and I think we know we can be better on offense.
“I thought we kept our composure through some tough situations for us, but we did some things that are out of character. They had a lot to do with that, too. They really are very aggressive with getting in the passing lanes, tipping the ball, back-tipping, all that, but really nice win for us.”
Tennessee will next play Purdue in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. EST and will be televised by ESPN.
