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Jimmy Boeheim has scored the first bucket for Syracuse in 12 of 14 games this season. Saturday night’s iteration of the typical routine came after his brother, Buddy Boeheim, drove to his spot in the paint and missed a jump shot. Cole Swider was there to snag the rebound, recycle the ball to Jimmy in the left corner beyond the arc and put Syracuse on the scoreboard against Virginia.

That offensive board was just the start for Syracuse (7-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) despite a five-point loss to Virginia (8-5, 2-1 ACC) on Saturday night in the Carrier Dome. The Orange went on to grab a total of 18 offensive rebounds, their most of the 2021-22 season and tying the most from last year too (18 at Duke on Feb. 22). 

The season-high in offensive rebounds doesn’t necessarily mean the Orange’s rebounding struggles will vanish from here on out. Virginia is near the 100-worst offensive rebounding teams in the nation, ranking 257th in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage. 

But perhaps it’s a sign of improvement, a sign of promise, and maybe a sign of what’s to come as ACC play kicks into full gear with the new year. For a Syracuse team that has consistently struggled to rebound for the past few years — SU hasn’t ranked in the KenPom top-100 for offensive rebounding percentage since 2017-18 — 18 offensive rebounds is a rarity.

“I thought we battled back the whole game,” head coach Jim Boeheim said on Zoom afterward. “We went after the ball, rebounding — we went after the ball to get it and get it back. We did a really good job there.”

Saturday, though, Boeheim also said SU missed too many shots and didn’t capitalize on its chances. The Orange managed 16 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds but missed many opportunities where they had good looks but simply couldn’t score, Buddy said after the game.

On one in the first half, Swider hoisted a 3-point attempt with no defenders in the vicinity that rimmed out. Center Jesse Edwards used his 6-foot-11 frame to go up and grab the rebound but then missed a layup from the right side. Jimmy grabbed that rebound but rimmed it out from the left side before Buddy finally converted the chance on a mid-range jumper. 

On another sequence to start the second half, Swider missed a jumper, Edwards got the rebound, Buddy missed a 3-pointer, and SU got the rebound. Then Buddy missed a layup and Swider grabbed the rebound before the possession ended with the Villanova transfer turning the ball over. 

And on another, the Orange missed two 3-pointers but got both offensive rebounds to maintain possession. Buddy said after the game that offensive rebounds help SU get looks at open 3s, because they present good opportunities to kick the ball back out for second-chance points. 

Syracuse successfully converted its offensive boards into points at times, though. When Swider missed a wide-open shot from the short corner on the left side right after halftime, Jimmy was there to box out and grab a contested board. He got the putback, and the foul too, lifting SU to its first lead of the night.

Swider showed good hustle by flying across the baseline to grab a loose ball after Buddy missed a second-half jumper but couldn’t fully save it from going out of bounds so it didn’t go down as an offensive board. 

Symir Torrence snagged an offensive rebound when Buddy bricked a 3-pointer, Edwards was there when Swider missed a trifecta, and Swider collected a missed free throw from Jimmy.

“I didn’t even realize we had 18 offensive rebounds,” Buddy said after the game. “We were just going after the ball. Jesse had a couple really good rebounds. Jimmy and Cole were really aggressive going after the ball.”

Offensive rebounding has been a focal point of 5-on-5 drills at recent practices, Buddy said. Syracuse worked on getting to the boards the instant that the shot went up. If Joe Girard III shot the ball, for instance, Edwards, Swider and Jimmy were all expected to be in the paint, Buddy said. 

“We’ve really done that more than ever,” Buddy said, referencing how often the Orange worked on offensive rebounding at practice.

And against UVA, it showed, as Edwards, Swider and Jimmy posted four offensive rebounds apiece.

Published on January 1, 2022 at 10:44 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16