Poor Free Throw Shooting

[SonOfWarrior]

Is anyone else concerned about this team's extremely poor free throw shooting?    In a close game, it could make a difference.

Good teams make free throws, especially in the stretch.

Good teams rebound. 

This team has played well despite not consistently doing both well, it WILL catch up to them. 

[The Sultan]

Good teams make free throws, especially in the stretch.

Not much correlation that I can tell.

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/team/150

[BM1090]

Not much correlation that I can tell.

https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/team/150

Yeah, 2012 UK who a lot consider the best team of the past 15 years shot an identical FT% as 2024 MU. 3 of the past 6 national champions shot worse than this MU team.

Much ado about nothing.

[Jay Bee]

#FTsNoMatta

Our performance when at the line represents elite offense

[muwarrior69]

What you describe is defensive rebounding.

Well both then. We suck under the basket.

[brewcity77]

Well both then. We suck under the basket.

We're much better than we were a year ago. And we'll never be a great defensive rebounding team using this system, yet we have a top-20 defense. Our defense is designed to create pressure, turn teams over, and limit how much of the the shot clock they productively use. That's going to lead to offensive rebounds.

Marquette is #15 in turnover rate, but #257 in defensive rebounding rate. But of the top-20 teams in turnover rate, only ONE is in the top-200 of defensive rebounding rate, and that's Houston at #190. Nine of the top-20 are #300 or worse, like we were a year ago.

Bottom line, if you want a great defensive rebounding team, you probably need to wait for a different coach to get it. Shaka has never had a team in the top-140 of DR%. And yet he's had a top-55 defense 13 straight years (and top-40 11/13). You have to take the bad with the good.

[Newsdreams]

We're much better than we were a year ago. And we'll never be a great defensive rebounding team using this system, yet we have a top-20 defense. Our defense is designed to create pressure, turn teams over, and limit how much of the the shot clock they productively use. That's going to lead to offensive rebounds.

Marquette is #15 in turnover rate, but #257 in defensive rebounding rate. But of the top-20 teams in turnover rate, only ONE is in the top-200 of defensive rebounding rate, and that's Houston at #190. Nine of the top-20 are #300 or worse, like we were a year ago.

Bottom line, if you want a great defensive rebounding team, you probably need to wait for a different coach to get it. Shaka has never had a team in the top-140 of DR%. And yet he's had a top-55 defense 13 straight years (and top-40 11/13). You have to take the bad with the good.

Facts don't belong on Scoop

[Jay Bee]

But of the top-20 teams in turnover rate, only ONE is in the top-200 of defensive rebounding rate, and that's Houston at #190. Nine of the top-20 are #300 or worse, like we were a year ago.

I normally am ok w people slighting MU West, but Iowa State has better %s than Houston in both to% and dr% (ranking #2 and #148, respectively)

[muwarrior69]

We're much better than we were a year ago. And we'll never be a great defensive rebounding team using this system, yet we have a top-20 defense. Our defense is designed to create pressure, turn teams over, and limit how much of the the shot clock they productively use. That's going to lead to offensive rebounds.

Marquette is #15 in turnover rate, but #257 in defensive rebounding rate. But of the top-20 teams in turnover rate, only ONE is in the top-200 of defensive rebounding rate, and that's Houston at #190. Nine of the top-20 are #300 or worse, like we were a year ago.

Bottom line, if you want a great defensive rebounding team, you probably need to wait for a different coach to get it. Shaka has never had a team in the top-140 of DR%. And yet he's had a top-55 defense 13 straight years (and top-40 11/13). You have to take the bad with the good.

OK, but that does not explain why one opponent player still manages to get the ball and score surrounded by three of our players. I have seen it too many times. Its like our guys have teflon hands while their one guy has velcro.

[rocket surgeon]

Sultan

Agree on both. Have said multiple times, if the season ends with a loss we will not need to have much debate on what happened. A cold shooting night is number for me.

I will add, they do need to shoot FT better, especially the bonus. They miss too many front ends and that is big in the tournament.

  I don't get those who blow off the poor free throw shooting while grinding their dentures over "other stuff". 

if we are struggling from the 3 point line, it makes free throw shooting all the more important

if we are struggling with fill-in-the-blank "stuff" FT matta A  FU**ing LOT MORE

if we are playing a perfect game and winning by 10 with 30 seconds to go, maybe not so much

[The Sultan]

  I don't get those who blow off the poor free throw shooting while grinding their dentures over "other stuff". 

if we are struggling from the 3 point line, it makes free throw shooting all the more important

if we are struggling with fill-in-the-blank "stuff" FT matta A  FU**ing LOT MORE

if we are playing a perfect game and winning by 10 with 30 seconds to go, maybe not so much

It's just math.

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=65839.msg1631032#msg1631032

[Newsdreams]

It's just math.

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=65839.msg1631032#msg1631032

Won't understand

[WarhawkWarrior]

When's team plays balls out defense and never slows down the offense their heart and breathing rates are higher than any attempted scrimmage at that level, you are going to miss the otherwise automatic free throws.  Is it worth it, you bet in our case.

[tower912]

Raising our season FT% by 4% would put us in the top 50 nationally for FT%.

Raising it by 4% would also have resulted in us making 17.8 more FTs. Divide that by the 29 games we've played and that's a whopping 0.61 points a game.

So, no. Im not really worried about our FT%.

So, one more made free throw every 25 attempts and MU's percentage would be elite.    Right now, MU is basically 18/25.  19/25 is elite.

[The Thing]

Isn't MU near the bottom of the Big East in getting to the line though? That is a bigger issue for me. It would be nice to have some more opportunities for freebies throughout the game.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Isn't MU near the bottom of the Big East in getting to the line though? That is a bigger issue for me. It would be nice to have some more opportunities for freebies throughout the game.

Yes we're at the bottom of the Big East and yes that's the much bigger issue.

[1SE]

Goose

#1 for me is also a poor shooting night

#2 is a "let them play" ref crew against a physical, "bully ball" team.

Far more concerned about a ref ticky tacky touch fouls

[Scoop Snoop]

When a game is lost by a point or two, fans of the losing team focus like lasers on the last missed FTs or missed final shot. They often refuse to take the entire game into consideration and admit that there were many missed shots, free throws, fouls-questionable and/or missed-and perhaps a technical that could just as easily be identified as the reason their team lost. Defensive failures that allowed the opponents easy opportunities to score often escape blame for the loss. Post game comments begin with the word "IF" and end with "we would have won".

With the clock stopped and everyone nervously watching the FTs leave the shooters hand, I think FTs get more attention than they deserve. 

[The Sultan]

Exactly.

And this is why I have never understood the notion that it is "too early to use your replay challenge" in the NBA. If it is a clear and obvious error that saves your team a possession, it doesn't matter when you use it. But possessions near the end of the game are considered more important, but if a team treats each possession as important, than the end of the game doesn't matter.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Exactly.

And this is why I have never understood the notion that it is "too early to use your replay challenge" in the NBA. If it is a clear and obvious error that saves your team a possession, it doesn't matter when you use it. But possessions near the end of the game are considered more important, but if a team treats each possession as important, than the end of the game doesn't matter.

I believe the thought is the element of time. Early on, you have plenty of time to make up the 50/50 call, whereas later, you may have just a few possessions. More so, games (especially NBA games) tighten leads later making the appeal more valuable.

[The Sultan]

I believe the thought is the element of time. Early on, you have plenty of time to make up the 50/50 call, whereas later, you may have just a few possessions. More so, games (especially NBA games) tighten leads later making the appeal more valuable.

That is reasonable.

[MU82]

I believe the thought is the element of time. Early on, you have plenty of time to make up the 50/50 call, whereas later, you may have just a few possessions. More so, games (especially NBA games) tighten leads later making the appeal more valuable.

Great point, Dr. B. And the Cavaliers sure were glad they had their challenge available right at the very end last night - it literally won them the game vs. the Celtics.

[muwarrior69]

When a game is lost by a point or two, fans of the losing team focus like lasers on the last missed FTs or missed final shot. They often refuse to take the entire game into consideration and admit that there were many missed shots, free throws, fouls-questionable and/or missed-and perhaps a technical that could just as easily be identified as the reason their team lost. Defensive failures that allowed the opponents easy opportunities to score often escape blame for the loss. Post game comments begin with the word "IF" and end with "we would have won".

With the clock stopped and everyone nervously watching the FTs leave the shooters hand, I think FTs get more attention than they deserve.

I guess we shouldn't pay attention and just turn off the TV to see if a FT attempt won or lost the game in the closing seconds.

[Scoop Snoop]

I guess we shouldn't pay attention and just turn off the TV to see if a FT attempt won or lost the game in the closing seconds.

You have quite a talent for distorting anything and everything that does not fit into your neat little theories. My point was that there are many things that happen during a game that can be identified as the reason one's team lost. I listed some and will add a couple more- missed rebound opportunities and turnovers, especially unforced ones. You took my point and tried to twist it to support an apparent obsession with FTs. Nice try, but no cigar.

[MU82]

You have quite a talent for distorting anything and everything that does not fit into your neat little theories. My point was that there are many things that happen during a game that can be identified as the reason one's team lost. I listed some and will add a couple more- missed rebound opportunities and turnovers, especially unforced ones. You took my point and tried to twist it to support an apparent obsession with FTs. Nice try, but no cigar.

You're right about all this, including what you said about the poster you responded to.

It reminds me of those who actually think the reason we lost to Purdue was Lance Jones throwing in a 75-foot shot at the halftime buzzer. As if the rest of the game - including the entire 20 minutes of the second half - didn't matter.