College Basketball: 10 Good Teams That Are Weak on the Boards

Being strong on the boards is one of the important features of most championship teams.

Limiting second shots on the defensive end and creating extra possessions on offense by grabbing rebounds can be the difference between wins and losses.

However, there are lots of teams that fly in the face of conventional results. They don't rebound well, and yet they are very good teams.

Here are 10 college basketball teams that are having good seasons despite the fact that they are not doing well on the boards.

Virginia Commonwealth Rams

VCU has the exact same record, 6-3, that they had last year after nine games.

The Rams are getting ready for another challenging year in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Unfortunately, Shaka Smart's squad is not doing so well on the boards.

Right now, Virginia Commonwealth is averaging 33 rebounds per game (No. 272 in the nation).

They are one of the lowest ranked teams in the country in defensive rebounding (20.1 rpg, No. 327).

Juvonte Reddic, a 6'9", 235-lb sophomore forward, is the team's leading rebounder (6.1 rpg).

The silver lining to these stats is that last year, when VCU made their magical run to the Final Four, the Rams only averaged 32 rebounds per game.

Cleveland State Vikings

Last season, Cleveland State was on their way to the NCAA Tournament until Butler beat them in the Horizon League Tournament Finals.

This year, Cleveland State has started the 2011-12 season going 10-1 with an opening game upset of Vanderbilt.

They have begun their league play by winning their first three conference games.

The strange thing about the Vikings' success is that they are one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country, averaging only 19.5 rpg (No. 334).

The Vikings and Wisconsin-Milwaukee should battle it out for the Horizon title.

Cleveland State will be in a better place if they can do a better job on hitting the boards.

Northwestern Wildcats

This year's Northwestern team could be one of the best teams in school history.

The Wildcats are 7-1, with their only loss coming against then-No. 8 Baylor.

Bill Carmody's crew is doing well, except on the boards.

After their first eight games, Northwestern is averaging 31.8 rebounds per game (No. 302 in the nation).

The Wildcats are only grabbing nine offensive rebounds per game (No. 301). It's a good thing that they shoot the ball well.

John Shurna (pictured) is not only NU's leading scorer (18.9 ppg), he's also the team's leading rebounder (5.6 rpg).

If the Wildcats are going to have a genuine shot at making it to the NCAA Tournament, they're going to have to improve in this crucial area.

Northern Iowa Panthers

Northern Iowa has established itself as a top-level team in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Already in the 2011-12 season, the Panthers are 9-1 with tasty wins against the "two big state schools," Iowa and Iowa State.

They may have the best record going into conference play, but they are struggling on the boards.

UNI is currently averaging 30.2 rebounds per game, which is No. 327 in the nation. The Panthers are only grabbing 7.4 offensive rebounds per game (No. 339 out of 345 D-1 schools).

Seth Tuttle (pictured), a 6'8" freshman forward, is the Panthers' leading rebounder (5.5 rpg).

If Northern Iowa is going to make a run in the deeply talented MVC, they're going to have to figure some things out on the glass.

Saint Louis Billikens

Rick Majerus has the Billikens playing at a very high level as they embark on the 2011-12 season.

St. Louis is 9-1 and breathing down Xavier's neck in the Atlantic 10.

They already have quality wins against Washington and Villanova, yet SLU is a rebound-challenged team, averaging a mere 29.8 boards per game (No. 331 in the nation).

They are currently No. 334 in terms of offensive rebounding, grabbing only 7.9 per game.

Dwayne Evans, a 6'5" sophomore forward, is leading the team, averaging 5.8 rpg.

If the Billikens have a shot at taking the A-10, improvement on the boards has to be on the top of their to-do list.

Virginia Cavaliers

It's been a while since Virginia was off to this good of a start.

The Cavaliers have opened the 2011-12 season going 8-1 with impressive wins over then-No. 15 Michigan and George Mason.

Senior forward Mike Scott is leading the team in both scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg).

Though head coach Tony Bennett must like the end results his team is getting so far, he's probably not too excited about how they are doing on the glass.

After nine games, Virginia is No. 327 (out of 345 D-1 teams) on the offensive glass. The Cavaliers are only grabbing 8.1 offensive rebounds per game.

Sure, they are shooting the ball well as a team (48 percent from the floor), but just think if they could do a better job of collecting more of their own missed shots. 

The Cavs will be involved in a lot of close games once they begin their ACC schedule. Some of those wars will be won or lost based on who wins the rebound battle.

Harvard Crimson

Harvard is having an exceptional start to the '11-12 season, going 9-1 with impressive wins over Loyola-Marymount, Florida State and Central Florida.

Their only loss is to UConn, where they were only down by two points at half.

They were ranked in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls last week before losing to the Huskies.

However, the Crimson are currently No. 250 in overall rebounding (33.6 rpg), while only grabbing 9.8 offensive rebounds per game.

Keith Wright, Harvard's 6'8", 240-pound PF, is the teams leading rebounder (6.8 rpg).

It is a possibility that Tommy Amaker's team could run the table in the Ivy League and enter the NCAA Tournament.

The Crimson will have a better shot at making some noise in March if they can get better between now and then on the boards.

Murray State Racers

Murray State has started off the 2011-12 season by winning their first 10 games, with quality victories over Dayton and Memphis.

The Racers are currently No. 24 in the AP Poll as they prepare for their Ohio Valley Conference schedule.

It's an exciting time in the sprawling metropolis of Murray, Ky., but first year coach Steve Prohm may be concerned about his team's rebounding.

The Racers were out-rebounded even in their amazing win over Memphis.

Currently, Murray State is averaging only 31.7 rebounds per game (No. 303 in the nation).

They grab 20.4 defensive rebounds per game (No. 321 in the nation).

Ivan Aska (pictured) is Murray State's leading rebounder (5.5 rpg).

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan is currently No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

They are 7-2, with their only loses coming against Duke and Virginia.

The Wolverines are on their way back to being a challenger for the Big Ten title.

Right now, they are weak on the boards. Michigan averages 32.3 rebounds per game, No. 288 in the nation.

The place that the Wolverines struggle the most is on the offensive glass, where they only grab 8.1 offensive rebounds per game (No. 327 out of 345 D-1 schools).

Evan Smotrycz (pictured), a sophomore forward, leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 rpg.

Help is on the way next year as Mitch McGary, a 6'10" PF who is ranked as the No. 2 in the Class of 2012, has committed to come to Ann Arbor.

Until then, Michigan will need to keep spreading the floor and hope for the best.

Duke Blue Devils

Duke is currently the No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

They have won nine of their first 10 games, including taking the Maui Invitational.

The Blue Devils are not good on the boards, though.

They average 33.7 rebounds per game, which is No. 248 in the country.

Duke's not horrible on the defensive glass (24.4 drpg), but they are pretty feeble on the offensive boards. They only grab 9.3 offensive rebounds per game.

Miles and Mason Plumlee together grab 15 rebounds per game, almost half of the team's total.

The Blue Devils normally play three guards, which impacts their ability on the boards. Plus, Ryan Kelly is a perimeter-based power forward that doesn't normally add much to their rebounding prowess.

If Coach K's crew is going to compete for the ACC Championship and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, they're going to have to have more than MP1 and MP2 crashing the boards.