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Free throws not free in NCAA this year
With an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at stake Saturday morning, UTEP's best guard - Randy Culpepper - stepped to the free throw line with his squad down 6 to Houston with 33.7 seconds left in the Conference USA conference title game and split a pair. The Miners, the best team in Conference USA, lost by 8.
Duke's Jon Scheyer, who has shot 89 percent from the line this season, was fouled while firing up a three early Saturday afternoon in the Blue Devil's ACC Tournament semi-final against Miami (FL) and hit just one of three attempts.
That same afternoon, the University of Tennessee, in its SEC semi against Kentucky, started out 1-4 at the line.
In their Big Ten quarterfinal against Minnesota Friday night, my Spartans (17-32 free throws, 68 percent on the season) were about as accurate a shot as Dick Cheney on their way to gagging again in the Big Ten Tournament.
Tight games are already somewhat painful to watch, with all the intentional fouls and time outs coaches call. But when neither team can take control of a game when given a "Free" look at the basket, that makes teammates, coaches and fans cringe. It got so bad during the MSU game that I started hoping the Spartans would shoot their free throws underhanded like Rick Barry or Wilt Chamberlain.
Free throw shooting has been an issue all across the NCAA all season long. Only four teams projected to earn high seeds (1-4) in next week's NCAA Tournament - Duke (9), Villanova (13), Wisconsin (29) and Purdue (30) - rank in the top 50 in the nation in free throw shooting accuracy. After Baylor, at number 44, the next "good" team that comes up on the list is Georgetown, which is ranked 110th in the country in free throw shooting.
The number one team in the country, the Kansas Jayhawks, check in at number 145, shooting .698 from the line as a team.
I researched all this hoping to feel better about my team's struggles from the line. I don't. MSU is the 203rd best (out of 347) free throw shooting team in the country.
So when the tourney starts Thursday, you have a second option for taking bathroom breaks - when the refs blows his whistle.
Duke's Jon Scheyer, who has shot 89 percent from the line this season, was fouled while firing up a three early Saturday afternoon in the Blue Devil's ACC Tournament semi-final against Miami (FL) and hit just one of three attempts.
That same afternoon, the University of Tennessee, in its SEC semi against Kentucky, started out 1-4 at the line.
In their Big Ten quarterfinal against Minnesota Friday night, my Spartans (17-32 free throws, 68 percent on the season) were about as accurate a shot as Dick Cheney on their way to gagging again in the Big Ten Tournament.
Tight games are already somewhat painful to watch, with all the intentional fouls and time outs coaches call. But when neither team can take control of a game when given a "Free" look at the basket, that makes teammates, coaches and fans cringe. It got so bad during the MSU game that I started hoping the Spartans would shoot their free throws underhanded like Rick Barry or Wilt Chamberlain.
Free throw shooting has been an issue all across the NCAA all season long. Only four teams projected to earn high seeds (1-4) in next week's NCAA Tournament - Duke (9), Villanova (13), Wisconsin (29) and Purdue (30) - rank in the top 50 in the nation in free throw shooting accuracy. After Baylor, at number 44, the next "good" team that comes up on the list is Georgetown, which is ranked 110th in the country in free throw shooting.
The number one team in the country, the Kansas Jayhawks, check in at number 145, shooting .698 from the line as a team.
I researched all this hoping to feel better about my team's struggles from the line. I don't. MSU is the 203rd best (out of 347) free throw shooting team in the country.
So when the tourney starts Thursday, you have a second option for taking bathroom breaks - when the refs blows his whistle.
Labels: College Basketball, March Madness, Michigan State, NCAA Tournament
posted by Jason Carmel Davis at
2:04 PM
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