If a shot goes up in a gym where Syracuse is playing and it doesn’t go in, more often that not, the ball ends up in SU’s hands.

It helps the Orange (14-6, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) stay in games when its shots aren’t falling. It’s helped the team recover from slow starts and poor free-throw shooting. Rebounding is an area of strength for Syracuse, but it’s an area of dominance for the Orange’s next opponent, No. 15 North Carolina (16-4, 6-1).

Syracuse has hung with frontcourt-heavy teams this season, giving its sometimes stuttering offense extra possessions. But when the Orange tips off against the Tar Heels at 7 p.m. on Monday, it will meet its sternest test on the boards this year. UNC is first in the ACC and second in the country in total rebounds per game, hauling down an average of 43.5 per contest.

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” SU point guard Kaleb Joseph said. “If we go in there and stick to the game plan and execute, I think we’ll be fine.”

SU is tied for fifth in the conference and 35th in the country in rebounds per game entering Sunday. In Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, Syracuse has already beaten two of the top five rebounding teams in the conference despite getting outrebounded by both.

The Orange limited the Demon Deacons to 11 offensive rebounds as SU snagged 24 defensive boards and 15 rebounds on offense. And when Syracuse does give up an offensive rebound, the team’s not giving up many points. When it does, it loses.

Syracuse has allowed 10.7 second-chance points per game in ACC play off an average of 11.6 offensive rebounds per game. Clemson and Miami are the only two conference opponents to have more second-chance points than offensive rebounds against the Orange. They’re also SU’s only conference losses.

“We’ve got to go rebound with a lot of teams, a lot of big people,” SU forward Rakeem Christmas said.

The Tar Heels boast an average rebounding margin of plus-9.9. In the only two games where Syracuse has been outrebounded that badly, the Orange lost to Clemson and beat conference bottom-feeder Georgia Tech by a point.

Against Miami on Saturday, sophomore forward Tyler Roberson had 14 rebounds. Eleven of them came on the defensive glass, keeping the Hurricanes from getting extra looks while SU tried to dig out of double-digit deficits.

“We had to limit some of their second-chance points and they really made us work on the glass,” SU forward Michael Gbinije said. “They did a good job of rebounding and the rebounds that we got were tough ones.”

The North Carolina team that Syracuse faces on Monday, though, is more than the best rebounding team the Orange will face this season. The Tar Heels are the top team SU has played since it lost to Villanova, 82-77, on Dec. 20.

In the Dean Smith Center on Monday night, Syracuse will be put to its toughest test on the glass and those loose balls off of missed shots will be more valuable than ever.

“Tyler, Mike, they’re doing a great job down there trying to get rebounds,” Christmas said. “The rebounds lead to offense for us.”

Published on January 26, 2015 at 12:30 am

Contact Jacob: jmklinge@syr.edu | @Jacob_Klinger_