The Orange were outclassed by #3 Tennessee, getting blown out in the second half in a 96-70 loss. Here are five takeaways from the game:

The Orange were athletically outclassed in the game, as the Volunteers sent in wave after wave of long, bouncy athletes that dominated inside. Tennessee was credited with a half dozen dunks to go with ten layups while five different players grabbed at least six rebounds. In comparison, SU had three dunks and six layups while Chris Bell and Jyare Davis led them with five boards each.

All those easy scores highlighted the struggles of the Syracuse defense. Tennessee’s 96 points came on 68 possessions, good for 1.41 points per possession, including 51 points on 32 second half opportunities, a brutal 1.59 points per possession.

Elijah Moore kept the Orange afloat in the first half, coming off the bench to score a dozen points. Moore rattled off seven minutes in a span of under three minutes shortly after entering the game to keep Syracuse in the Vols’ hip pocket. The freshman shooting guard should get promoted to the starting lineup for Saturday’s game at Notre Dame. His scoring ability and emotional play before the game got out of hand are two things this team needs with J.J. Starling on the shelf.

SU entered the game as one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the nation. Tennessee ended the contest with a 38.2 percent offensive rebounding rate, nearly double what the Syracuse had been permitting on the season.

This team needs a more structured offense. Players’ best attributes are not exploited to generate easier looks and, without a coherent plan, the team stagnates and leans on individual play with little off-ball movement.

Jaquan Carlos was able to create switches on drives and exploit a collapsing Volunteer defense to get Chris Bell two open looks at corner 3’s early in the game. That never happened again.

Eddie Lampkin Jr. is a gifted passer, but his teammates are not getting open or even trying to cut more often than not.

Donnie Freeman is down to 3-for-18 from 3-point range this season. Perhaps simplifying his role on offense to cutting and post up opportunities will help him build success and confidence before expanding his offensive responsibilities.

It all combines to be a massive problem for the Orange offense.

----

Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our premium message board, Cuse Classified!

Follow us on Twitter @TheJuiceOnline, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram @SUJuiceOnline and listen to our podcast.

Tips/questions/concerns? E-mail Recruiting Analyst Charles Kang here.

Not a subscriber to The Juice Online? Join today for access to all our premium content and message board community.