ST. LOUIS – Tyler Roberson finally smiled after a game.

The often reserved, stoic forward goes about his business whether Syracuse wins or loses. He answers questions in a hush, his attention sometimes straying elsewhere while crafting responses seated at his locker.

On Friday afternoon, he stood amid the bustling Syracuse locker room, cracking a grin while discussing program history that he fell just short of. Roberson’s 18 rebounds in the 10th-seeded Orange’s (20-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) 70-51 win over seventh-seeded Dayton (25-8, 14-4 Atlantic 10) were one shy of the SU NCAA Tournament record set by former No. 1 NBA Draft pick Derrick Coleman in Syracuse’s loss to Indiana in the 1987 National Championship.

“Did I tie it?” Roberson asked anxiously, before letting out a playful “Aww” when he found out he was one rebound short.

But in the Orange’s blowout win in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64, that one rebound didn’t come close to mattering. Syracuse reversed its recent struggles on the glass and thanks in large part to the junior, the Orange owned a 48-28 advantage on the glass by game’s end. Now, after 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee’s upset of second-seeded Michigan State, Roberson will get a chance to build a consistency on the glass that he’s lacked this season against the Blue Raiders on Sunday.

“I think I did a really good job on the glass,” Roberson said. “I just want to continue to do that and try and do it again Sunday.”

Aside from Roberson’s historic 20-rebound performance at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Boeheim hasn’t lauded the forward with praise when he grabs double-digit boards. He says Roberson should be getting that many rebounds when opponents aren’t boxing him out.

On Friday, the head coach’s tune was vastly different after he pulled in eight offensive rebounds and 10 on the defensive end.

“He was tremendous tonight,” Boeheim said.

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• Gallery: Syracuse beats Dayton in Round of 64 NCAA Tournament matchup
• Fast Reaction: 3 quick takeaways after Syracuse’s 70-51 blowout of Dayton
• Dayton collapses under pressure of Syracuse’s early second-half run

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On top of the rebounds he corralled with two hands and grasped despite pressure from Dayton big men, Roberson refreshed Syracuse possessions with an outstretched arm tipping the ball out past the arc to an awaiting Syracuse guard.

Second- and third-chance opportunities for opponents have plagued the Orange this year. Roberson stifled those on one end, and on the other, helped keep the Flyers at bay by providing the Orange with what’s been its own downfall at times.

“When he plays with activity and he’s getting second-chance opportunities for us, we become a different team,” assistant coach Gerry McNamara said. “You can’t deny that.”

Less than a month ago, Boeheim said that if he had anyone else to put in Roberson’s spot, the junior wouldn’t play a single minute. That was after a home loss to Pittsburgh when he grabbed a meager four rebounds. The week following was filled with discussion about the harsh criticism of a player that has at times shouldered the load in the area Syracuse is arguably the weakest.

The head coach has preached his desire for Roberson to be consistent on the glass, echoing the same sentiment following his second-most dominant outing of the season. And in part due to another commanding performance from the junior, he’ll have a chance to do just that and smile again on Sunday.

“I know coach has been hard on Robie, and the reason he’s hard on him is because of that,” McNamara said. “He’s got to realize how good, especially he can be, when he plays with that type of effort.”

Published on March 18, 2016 at 6:54 pm

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