ATLANTA – All season long, Boston College has gotten support for star guard Tyrese Rice. It’s often come from players like Joe Trapani, Corey Raji and emerging wing Rakim Sanders. Lately, Biko Paris and Reggie Jackson have formed more of that support as Paris has become more aggressive and Jackson has continued to grow into the college game. The one player who was hardly a given, but who they need something from, is Josh Southern. And while he has had his moments, he hasn’t always come through.
He chose a good time to do that on Thursday night.
On a night where Rice was just 1-6 from the field for nine points, Southern had 13 points and nine rebounds, making five of his seven shots, and blocked two shots, helping the Eagles score a 76-63 win over Virginia in the quarterfinals.
“What he did this evening, he hasn’t done consistently, and that was to demand the ball,” said head coach Al Skinner. “He was demanding that they give him the basketball. When they gave it to him, for the most part he did some good things. He made some good plays out of the post for us, and we’ve been waiting for a good portion of the year for him to bring that type of attitude.”
While Trapani and Raji have been solid as basically interchangeable forwards, Southern has been hit or miss. He’s also the only true post player, as Raji is better inside but doesn’t have the bulk and makes his mark being active. As such, while they don’t need great numbers from him, they need something. At times, he has given them just that, like the two games in New York in the NIT Season Tip-Off when he had nine points and 11 boards against Purdue and six points and 11 boards against UAB. He had 12 points and nine boards in the regular season finale against Georgia Tech.
The Eagles entered the matchup with a decided size disadvantage overall. Southern is their only player taller than 6’9″, while the Cavaliers boast three such players and have three more who stand exactly 6’9″. Yet with Southern’s play, as well as that of teammates like Sanders (game-high 25 points and seven rebounds), the Eagles had a 36-22 edge in points in the paint and a slight 36-35 edge on the glass.
If Southern can continue this, it certainly bodes well for the Eagles. The Eagles are now 6-1 when he scores in double figures. Rice will shake off this game and surely be better, while Sanders is starting to become more consistent. They could certainly use it against Duke, a team that doesn’t have the size inside that Virginia has.
“If he plays like that and he sees that he can do that against the best competition, then that will give him the confidence to play like that every night,” said Skinner. “It made it a lot easier for our wings and the guards when Josh is playing well.”
Now is a good time for him to be doing just that.
