Tonight, the Syracuse basketball team welcomed their beloved head coach Jim Boeheim back and the team couldn’t have looked much different from the previous nine games. Not to take anything away from the job assistant coach Mike Hopkins did during Boeheim’s absence, it was obvious that the Boeheim effect was strong in this one.
In the first half, Syracuse did a commendable job cleaning the glass, at one point leading 19-13 in rebounding. Tyler Roberson was bringing a level of emotion to the floor that hasn’t been seen all season. He was boxing out, closing defensive gaps quickly, and even contributing on the offensive end in the pick and roll.