I was having yet another argument with the Hopper about why BYU wins, or in this case will lose Big 12 games this season even when they play well enough to win, like they did against Baylor.
There are some arguments that can be made but the facts are the facts. This is one of the biggest reasons BYU will struggle to win games in the Big 12. I lay it on the shoulders of the officials, particularly in the first two league games. Unless BYU is close in the number of attempts per game, they will be hard pressed to come away victorious. Their 3 point shooting won’t be enough and apparently their kenpom defensive efficiency won’t help much either. So what chance do they have?
Especially considering UCF beat Kansas tonight. Check and see which team shot more free throws… and there is no reason to believe the Hopper argument that teams will have to foul to catch up and that means more free throws for the team that eventually wins. It might be the case on occasion but not significant enough to be a major factor. Kansas didn’t foul when they got behind…
I watched the highlight replay on ESPN. Go online and see for yourself.
Boom! Go head down the rabbit hole and see where you find yourself. It is a stand alone statistic that has enough substance to be validated without other variables. In other words, any argument you make cannot be supported enough to change the reality of what I said.
You only watched highlights. Nice try.
So, all you have to do is go to the foul line more than the other team and you win. You can go 0-50 from the field. You can stand around and play no defense. You play with 3 players on the floor against 5. Nothing else matters except get fouled more than the other team. Ya, that makes sense. The conclusion of the study of the facts is simply flawed.
You may have read the article but you completely failed to understand what it was referring to or the significance of what it was saying. The interesting point here is that nobody has weighed in on the topic because it just might be a relevant point. No way of disputing facts.
It was a game recap and basically showed every scoring play by each team. There was no fouling in an attempt to come back by Kansas. They were close (and actually had a large first half lead) the entire game. Whether or not they had to foul (which they did not) is beside the point. The point is that UCF shot and made more free throws and statistically speaking, the team that does that wins a higher percentage of games. It’s just a fact, accept it.
There may be games where BYU shoots fewer free throws and wins, the same goes for any team. However the fact that BYU typically does not shoot more free throws affects their winning possibility in a negative way, just like the article states. This goes back to the argument that I made in the first place. BYU does not, and will not, get calls from the officials. They are very rarely the beneficiary of objective officiating. More often than not, they are on the wrong side of how a game is called. It stinks but I have been watching for decades now and nothing you, Floyd, Harold or anyone else says is going to change that perspective.