Syracuse Basketball vs. Virginia Tech: 4 Keys to the Game

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Feb 3, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Tyler Roberson (21) grabs a rebound during the second half of a game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won the game 72-70. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /

Win the Rebounding Battle

Virginia Tech does not have a lot of size. They have one player who is 6’10”, but their next biggest guy who sees any kind of minutes is just 6’7″. They also aren’t a particularly great rebounding team in general, as mentioned above.

Syracuse basketball needs to take advantage of this and clean house on the glass. Tyler Roberson needs to have a big game at both ends on the boards, but also guys like Coleman, Lydon, Richardson, and even Gbinije need to contribute. Coleman has shown improvements lately, so it would be great to see him have a big game in the rebounding department.

It all starts with boxing out. The Syracuse zone tends to force teams into taking more 3-point shots than they are comfortable with, and the bottom three in the zone need to make sure that the second that ball goes into the air, they are finding a body and staying in front of him.

They have done a much better job of that in general over the past half dozen games, but even so got beaten on the glass handily by Georgia Tech. Missed assignments were key in that game and it’s the main reason it was so close throughout. If Syracuse can manage a positive rebounding margin in this game, it will go a long way towards a victory.

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