BUFFALO, N.Y. — If it seems like Rakeem Christmas and Baye Moussa Keita are almost always in foul trouble, that’s because they are.

Christmas has picked up four or more personals in nine of Syracuse’s last 12 games. Keita has done so six times. Both big men are active when they’re on the court — blocking some shots and altering others — but they have a tough time staying on it.

Christmas had four personals in the Orange’s losses to Boston College, Duke and North Carolina State. Keita had four in the Orange’s other losses against Virginia and Georgia Tech.

“If you get those two big guys in foul trouble early,” Dayton forward Devin Oliver said, “that’ll open up the lane and give us more easy basket opportunities at the rim.”

Syracuse (28-5, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) will face Dayton (24-10, 10-6 Atlantic 10) in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, but Christmas, Keita and assistant coach Mike Hopkins aren’t too concerned. Hopkins, who works with the big men, is confident that as long as the duo keeps its hands up and plays fundamental defense it’ll be fine against the Flyers.

Though foul trouble is certainly an issue, Hopkins said that being aggressive is the most important thing.

“When one guy gets in foul trouble,” Hopkins said, “the other guy seems to pick that guy up in a lot of different ways.”

Hopkins regularly works with Christmas and Keita and likes what he’s seen lately. He said defense is SU’s “armor,” and that the two are integral to the team’s defensive success.

In fact, its overall success often hinges on the play of the pair. When SU beat N.C. State by one at home in February, Christmas pieced together his best game of the season, scoring 14 points and blocking seven shots. Without him, SU likely would have lost.

In SU’s two-point win over Maryland, Keita played 30 minutes, corralling eight boards and only picking up two fouls. Christmas picked up four fouls in 12 scoreless minutes, but it ended up not mattering as Keita picked up the slack.

Conversely, Keita committed four fouls in just 12 minutes in a loss to Virginia on March 1.

“We play the same way,” Christmas said. “I know Baye can come in and pick up where I left off. If he’s in foul trouble, I can come in and pick up where he left off.”

Hopkins said Christmas and Keita were excellent against Western Michigan. WMU star Shayne Whittington was never able to get into a rhythm, which limited the team’s offense.

He hopes a similar scenario unfolds Saturday and SU’s big men are able to stay in the game.

Dayton’s able to bring as many as four players off the bench. While their legs will generally be fresh, Christmas and Keita will likely play significant minutes if they stay out of foul trouble.

Oliver knows a key to the game will be to get Christmas and Keita on the bench by regularly attacking the basket. The Flyers don’t want to fall into the trap of taking low-percentage 3-pointers against the zone.

He said Dayton’s not used to having two players of Christmas and Keita’s size and caliber on one team, but that he and his teammates will adjust accordingly.

Hopkins knows staying out of foul trouble isn’t easy when Christmas and Keita are constantly being bombarded in the paint. He just tries to get his players to maximize their production while on the court.

“What we try to do is get a couple deflections, a couple blocks,” Hopkins said, “but foul trouble’s definitely been an issue.”

Published on March 21, 2014 at 5:30 pm

Contact Trevor: tbhass@syr.edu | @TrevorHass