Syracuse has used the same starters in every game, and that lineup features three players 6-foot-1 or taller: Miranda Drummond, Digna Strautmane and Amaya Finklea-Guity. Only Georgia Tech, a team SU beat, started three 6-foot-1 or taller players against Syracuse in Atlantic Coast Conference play. But in conference play, it’s common for opponents to outrebound the Orange.

A big part of Syracuse’s (15-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) problem in its first seven ACC games has been rebounding. SU has grabbed fewer rebounds than its opponents in all but two conference games. It’s only snagged more in one of its ACC games along with tying in one.

Overall, it’s been minus-24 on the glass for SU in conference. Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman had a simple answer after his team had its worst rebounding margin of the season (-15) against NC State in a road loss.

“Rebounding is the game,” Hillsman said on Jan. 14 after the loss to the Wolfpack.

That’s held true throughout conference play. Syracuse has overcome a negative rebounding margin to win on just one occasion, behind a career-high 38 points from Drummond against Florida State. But SU was still “smashed” on the glass that day Hillsman said, giving up 24 offensive boards to the Seminoles.

The Orange’s other two conference wins came in the Georgia Tech game where rebounds were even, and on Sunday against Pitt where Syracuse finished with 12 rebound advantage. With the big margin against the Panthers, SU scored 20 second-chance points.

“Shooting 1-for-14 in the third quarter definitely helps you, that’s a lot of rebounds to get,” Hillsman said after the Pitt game. “We were able to get to the free-throw line and that was from getting rebounds and having putback opportunities.”

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The defenses Syracuse plays often — either full-court pressure or a 2-3 zone — both have drawbacks when it comes to rebounding. It’s easier than in man-to-man to have players unmarked when a shot goes up. In man, every player conceptually will be near the one player they’re responsible for boxing out when a shot goes up, making each box out matchup a one-on-one.

Conversely, in the press, players can be scrambling to recover if players beat them down the floor, leaving players free from box outs. In zone defense, more than one offensive player can end up in one defender’s particular area, leaving multiple offensive players for one defender to account for when the shot goes up.

After SU upset Florida State, Finklea-Guity said it felt like she had two players in her area to box out on a number of occasions.

“Every time I felt like I (boxed out) one, the other one would get the rebound,” Finklea-Guity said after the FSU win.

The height advantage that Syracuse holds over its opponents on paper pregame can disappear based on the lineups that cycle in. There are plenty of minutes that either Finklea-Guity or Strautmane are on the bench and SU doesn’t have an active 6-footer off its bench to replace them. Instead, 5-foot-8 wings Jasmine Nwajei and Raven Fox get time off the bench in place of the taller players.

Syracuse’s freshman bigs have also battled foul trouble on a number of occasions, often forcing Hillsman to play SU’s smaller bench players in forward or center spots. One of the reasons SU’s rebounding margin wasn’t worse against FSU was that as Strautmane battled foul trouble while Finklea-Guity lasted the whole game with just one, ensuring that one of Syracuse’s tallest two players could be on the floor at all times.

In the struggle against N.C. State, though, Strautmane’s foul trouble — she finished with four fouls — contributed to SU getting crushed on the boards by a Wolfpack team that rolled out players measuring 6-foot-1, 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-5 for extended minutes.

“They got a lot of second chance points, and that’s big,” Hillsman said that night. “We’ve got to hold them to one possession (each time down the floor).”

Offensive rebounds have also been a weak point for Syracuse, as the bigs don’t crash the glass often, attempting to avoid foul trouble. Only once in the seven conference games has SU grabbed more offensive rebounds than its opponent.

The Orange likes to get out and run the fast break behind its point guard, Tiana Mangakahia, but that’s a lot harder to do without grabbing rebounds. The more second chance points SU allows, the more it has to take the ball out of the basket and the less it can run its desired fast paced show.

“We gotta rebound the ball, get out in transition and make some shots,” Hillsman said after a loss at Miami on Jan. 18.

It works in reverse, too. Syracuse making its shots and preventing opponents to get boards and run out means SU can set up its pressure, something Hillsman emphasized postgame Sunday after beating Pitt. Preventing opposition success on the defensive glass can help Syracuse set up its desired defense.

As Hillsman said after NC State dominated the glass against SU, rebounding is the game. To win more games in conference, it seems Syracuse’s best bet is winning the battle on the glass.

Published on January 22, 2018 at 10:35 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3