Thoughtful thoughts!

While we might compliment each other too much on the Bench, these are some great thoughts. (Hmm…maybe one can never compliment others too much.)

1. Yes, it was. We can look at the opponents' eFG% to compare. You named the good schools. So. Carolina and Stanford were ridiculous. ND didn’t have the greatest eFG%, but net was pretty good. Defense!

2. I’m reminded of the coach(es) who shout, “Put the ball in the hoop!” Yes, It’s why eFG% is typically cited as most important. I tried a number of stats but was confident eFG% would be one of them. I was surprised how the net of two stats could come so close to predicting team success. I live for surprises.

Actually, no, this site is for fans, so, as MPG guessed, I’ll gush about how Coach Ivey and staff will improve those numbers with our freshman class.

3. I wouldn’t argue, but I tried rebounds and they were all over the place. Maryland actually was out rebounded by opponents this year. Indiana, Iowa, and Villanova barely out rebounded their opponents.

4. Amen. I am continual frustrated when people yell, “Ya gotta hit the bunnies!”, as if a lay up with a couple of players hanging on you is easy. This is why I said turnovers leading to a fast break are …well, easier than a lot of other shots.

5. We shot less 3’s than any of the other top 10 teams. Indeed we shot less 3’s than any of the 60 teams I track. Of course, our coaching staff is not dumb. We also had the lowest rate of any of the top 10 teams. (Some of the 60 teams I track had slightly lower rates.)

6. I have no insights here. I guess this analysis is how a team gets to the final 5 minutes with a chance to win against a top 25 opponent.