Jim Boeheim had to confirm with his children. The Syracuse head coach stood as the center of attention in the postgame press room, telling reporters that basketball players should learn in sixth grade about how aggressive one should be on the offensive glass.

“Buddy, you know that right,” Boeheim said to his son, who had a big smile on his face. “You get three fouls you don’t go over the back.”

“Sissy, do you know that? You might not, I’m not sure,” Boeheim said to his daughter, who looked more embarrassed. “She’s pretty aggressive.”

Boeheim’s joke was all part of a pointed comment about Tyler Roberson. The Syracuse forward was having a monster night. He had 10 points and 12 rebounds with 14 minutes to play. But he recorded a fourth foul on an overly-aggressive over the back, and never returned to play. Syracuse (11-7, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) went on to win big, 62-40, over Boston College (7-9, 0-3) in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night.

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All three of Roberson’s second-half fouls came as he went for boards on the offensive glass. He was all over the place, in a good way, for Syracuse. But his aggressiveness came back to bite him.

“It’s my fault,” Roberson said. “I should have became more aware and not have been as aggressive on the offensive glass. Should have picked my spots better. This is definitely something I’ve learned.”

Roberson didn’t say there was anything that he could do specifically to limit his foul woes. It’s more just a matter of being aware of his foul situation. Roberson finished off the first half by cleaning up a Tyler Lydon missed 3 then a Frank Howard missed layup. His second on the offensive glass led to a basket of his own, punctuating a first half in which the Orange doubled BC’s score at 30-15.

The big man has finished in double-figure scoring in four of the past five games. And it was the first time since Dec. 5 that he’s had more than three fouls. Roberson entered the BC matchup ranking third in the ACC with 3.9 offensive rebounds per game. He’s played aggressive and it’s paid off.

On Wednesday though, it cost him the chance to make a good night a special one.

“He’s just an animal down there,” center Dajuan Coleman said. “Just nobody is boxing him out. He’s going up and getting them. We need him to play like that every game.”

Published on January 13, 2016 at 10:46 pm

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3