Game Thread: Northwestern vs. Prairie View A&M

[GatoLouco]

So we should only take dunks and 3's. I am only half-kidding. Driving to the lane draws fouls (which are not reflected in those stats) and should create put back opportunities (but we haven't been very good at that since Pardon graduated), but those percentages support what I see when I watch games. "Jacking" 3's is a pretty efficient option in our offense.

The biggest weakness on almost all of Collins' teams has been an inability to finish at the rim. I believe that's a primary reason why we struggle at the end of games. We only have a couple of players that can create their own shot (which is critical at the end of games) and they are poor finishers. Some of it is the level of athletes we recruit but even Vic Law was not great at driving to the basket when he was here. Watching him in a few videos since, he has gotten much craftier and efficient around the rim. And fast breaks are an adventure that seem to lead to almost as many turnovers as baskets.

I thought Barnhizer and Roper would be better at it but they haven't given me much hope the past few games. As much as folks on this board like to criticize our offense (and it can be stagnant), basketball is still primarily about one guy beating another guy one on one and scoring and creating, especially at the end of games. Other teams generally aren't beating us with scheme.

Gotta throw FT somewhere in that eval. We do seem do be getting better at drawing fouls.

 

[Hungry Jack]

That's it! I've had enough of you. I am going to sleep with Salma Hayek now.

You can buy a life-size cardboard cutout of Salma. That might help.

I plan to bring one to Uber's tailgate next season (assuming he hasn't sworn off the Cats by then).

 

[hdhntr1]

As far as I know (and it never mattered for me) the offensive player is allowed to grab the ball even if it is heading down toward the basket, as long as it isn't in the cylinder or on the rim. I can't find anything that says otherwise.

So lobs that look like shots are difficult to defend...

Maybe somebody knows for sure.

Not so sure. I found this

Offensive and Defensive Goaltending​

When goaltending was first introduced, the violation was primarily concerned with action on the defensive end. It would take another decade before goaltending on the offensive end would be addressed.

Offensive goaltending occurs when an offensive player touches the ball while it is on a downward trajectory towards the basket and is outside the imaginary cylinder.

It is rare to see offensive goaltending violations, but they do happen, and result in the offending team losing possession of the ball and no points being awarded.

So if the ball was above the rim, headed down and outside the cylinder it should be be called goaltending regardless of offensive or defensive. (Inside the circle is basket interference)

 

[TheC]

Per Torvik, we are 26/27 (96.3%) on dunks, 68/153 (44.4%) on layups, 28/106 (26.4%) on midrange, and 71/228 (31.1%) on 3s. Combined dunks and layups is 52.2%.

Worst offender, to what should be no one's surprise, is Buie, who is 14/33 (42.4%) on layups.

We are far and away the worst in the conference at layups. Only Rutgers is below 50%, 10 teams are above 58% and 6 teams are above 60%, with the Illini being the best at 62.8%

I absolutely stand corrected. Forget I ever said anything about the midrange game!

 

[hdhntr1]

I absolutely stand corrected. Forget I ever said anything about the midrange game!

Being less than 50% on layups is pretty embarrassing as well