Freshman Tyler Roberson will start for No. 7 Syracuse in its home finale against Georgia Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m. while Jerami Grant rests his sore back.

It will be the first career start for Roberson, who scored five points in the final 3:13 of the Orange’s 75-56 loss to Virginia on Saturday and hasn’t seen much significant court time this year.

Grant, who missed practice on Monday, has been limited to 26 minutes over the last two games. Both times, he was unable to move well enough to play in the second half.

“I think he’s made some strides,” Boeheim said on the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ teleconference Monday. “I think it’s been a tough process for him, but I think he definitely has made some strides. We’ll see moving forward what his contributions can be.”

Boeheim said that he would likely start Roberson over junior Michael Gbinije on ESPN CNY Radio Tuesday afternoon to maximize Gbinije’s versatility as a reserve.

SU sophomore guard Trevor Cooney said Roberson has put together a handful of strong practices despite playing just 50 minutes since the start of conference play.

And with Grant’s status in question moving toward tournament time, extended minutes against Georgia Tech could be beneficial in preparing Roberson for the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

“We’re going to need him,” freshman guard Tyler Ennis said after the loss to UVA. “He’s just got to continue to produce when he gets minutes.”

After hosting the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, Syracuse wraps up its regular-season schedule at Florida State on Sunday.

Published on March 4, 2014 at 6:52 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1