Fans storm court as Syracuse basketball beats No. 13 Tennessee

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Orange basketball program earned its first ranked win of the season by defeating No. 13 Tennessee by a final score of 62-60 Tuesday night. It was the first win over a ranked opponent in the non-conference since the Orange beat No. 16 Ohio State in November 2018. It was the first win over a ranked opponent since the Orange beat No. 7 North Carolina in February 2023.

Syracuse fans stormed the court as the Orange took down Tennessee. Adrian Autry, who opened his press conference thanking fans for showing up and supporting the team, said he hopes for more court-storming at Syracuse.

“In general that’s college basketball,” Autry said. “It’s fun for our students that are a big part of it. Our community. Those things, that’s what college basketball is about. We want to have more of those.”

Court storming is something unique to college basketball that gives it a distinct identity and fervent feel, distinguishing it from other levels of basketball. It’s also become a risk for losing teams with fans physically interacting with players from opposing programs. After a court-storming at Wake Forest in 2024, a fan made contact with Duke’s Kyle Filapowski, resulting in Jon Scheyer asking for a ban on court-storming.

The ACC hasn’t banned court-storming outright, but it does have a structure in place with member schools to have proper security measures in place to ensure opposing teams can exit the court area safely. There is a fine structure in place for breaches. Other leagues have taken more severe measures. Most notably the SEC has outright banned court-storming, issuing fines of $500,000 to programs for offenses.

As Tennessee’s Nate Ament missed one last shot at the final buzzer, security representatives at the JMA Wireless Dome formed a wall between the court storming action and the handshake line. A human security shield formed between celebrating fans and teams.

It’s obviously a celebratory moment of fun for fans. But it’s a unique and memorable experience for the players as well.

“I was jumping up and down. I think one of the fans tried to pick me up,” Kiyan Anthony said. “This is my first time being a part of something like this. I always seen it through the TV. But it was great. It was a great feeling.”

Syracuse players were able to soak in the moment. It marked the first court-storming at the JMA Wireless Dome since the Orange took down North Carolina two seasons ago.

“It’s a blessing. That’s my second one in three years,” JJ Starling said. “Nothing beats it. Having the community storm the court after a big win is just big time.”

Starling said there were a lot of cameras and a lot of hugs going around.

As soon as Sadiq White secured Jaylen’s Carey’s missed shot, fans started lining themselves around the court. When the final horn sounded the court storming began.

“The fans are great. They brought it the whole game. They was in it the whole game. The momentum was huge with them as the sixth man,” Nate Kingz said.

It’s a distinct reward for the players, a moment in time that honors their sacrifices and hard work. It’s also a memory that players carry for the rest of their lives long after their playing days are over.

With competition for viewership in a sport that already struggles to maintain audiences outside of the NCAA Tournament, college basketball has struggled to maintain and lean into aspects of the sport that make it unique. Rivalries have been diminished due to conference realignment and the sport has become known by the general public for the transfer portal and NIL. While player safety is high-priority, another long-held tradition seems to wane.

Doing away with something so centric to college basketball based on a few anecdotal bad instances might seem hasty to some. The ACC finding a way to prioritize safety while also keeping fun intact might seem prudent to others. As league offices make decisions on how to handle court-storming, they might also want to listen to players on the winning side.

“That was amazing,” Will Kyle said. “I’ve never experienced a court storm in my career so that was awesome. Couldn’t have scripred it any better. I mean that was amazing and so much love for Syracuse and just the community and all the love that they give us. We couldn’t have done it without them.”