Syracuse basketball has a major rebounding issue. The team simply can’t grab boards. This isn’t just a one-game anomaly or the worst it’s been in a few years, either. The Orange are rebounding as badly as they have in recent memory. This season, Syracuse is averaging 34.2 total rebounds per game, with a margin of -4.5. Those are both the worst numbers the Orange have posted since 2011-12.
While rebounding has been ugly the entire season, it’s gotten worse as time has gone on. In the past six games, SU has grabbed fewer than 30 rebounds. In each of the past seven games, Syracuse has had a negative rebounding margin. There haven’t been stretches like that in at least a decade, and there’s a good chance it’s been much longer than that. To figure out exactly how long it’s been, you’d have to check individual box scores. Maybe a Mike’s Mailbox on the matter is in order.
You might be wondering if this has anything to do with pace of play, or another factor that’s making all team’s rebounding numbers go down. That’s not the case. Right now, Syracuse sits dead last in the ACC in rebounding margin. The Orange grab 4.5 fewer boards than their opponents, which ranks 15th in a conference with 15 teams. In just conference games, it’s even worse. SU has a margin of -8.0 in that category. The next closest team has a margin of -4.4. That means Syracuse is bad on the boards regardless of any broader trends in the sports.
In terms of a fix, there’s not much head coach Adrian Autry can do this season. There isn’t a lot of height on this team. A 6’9” forward, Maliq Brown, is playing most of the minutes at the five. SU’s other taller forward, Benny Williams, was dismissed from the team, which doesn’t help one bit.
Rebounding needs to be one of the top priorities to address this offseason.
