Free throws free throws free thows

[Utopia]

Great game, good win. Brutal FT shooting yet again (17-32, 53%) that made it much closer than it needed to be. Btw, Utah was -1.5pt favorites, lol.

Lovering and Ausar were terrific; played with great intensity. Traore is a load to defend, but otherwise TDS’ frontcourt is pretty vulnerable defensively and Utah did a great job attacking them.

Erickson was clutch (except for the airball FT, oof).

Gabe last 10 games:
10.9 PTS
28% FG
23% 3PT

Maybe it’s time to rein in the extent to which he has a green light. Most of his shots are very contested and clearly he’s not able to make a decent %. The way he’s shooting, most of his shots are basically turnovers.

[alexsmith]

Utah opened as a 1.5 favorite but it quickly swung to a TDS 1.5 point favorite. If we could make free throws, we don’t end up going to OT. We likely win by 5ish points. Great win though, happy to see this team turn a corner

[auburnute]

Definitely frustrating to see a team so consistently struggle from the free throw line because it’s the one aspect of the game that the shooter is in full control of. It’s going to be rare to win close games if we continue to shoot this poorly from the line.

[Charlie]

I have not noticed it so much in other games but tonight I could see being tired factor into FT shooting. In the first half we shot FTs very well. Coming down the stretch we were tired but then so was the Y. You could see they wanted to foul Lovering at the end. I think it was at the end of regulation with seconds the Y got loose on the base line going in and I thought that was an opportunity to use our last foul for a 1 and 1 with a worst case go to OT because they also were not likely to drain 2.

All in all it was nice to see the atmosphere we enjoyed back in the 90s. Not excited to see so many Y fans and it would have been unbearable if they would have had a comfortable lead. As it was I had to just think – thank you for donating to our athletics. I would not have guessed to start the Big-12 they would get us in FB and we would get them in BB for the first to games. Great environment but the traffic and parking sucked.

I’ll take it.

[AlohaUte]

I almost want to fire Smith more for the missed free throws than for losses. Do they just nir practice them? There is zero excuse for a Big-12 caliber player to be worse than an 80% free throw shooter.

[chinngiskhaan]

Every day there are dozens of joe shmoes at any local rec center that can hit 8/10 free throws. S**tty free throw shooting is proof of a lack of effort, focus, and conditioning in practice.

When I played HS ball, our coach made us run ladders at the end of practice then he would pick a random player to shoot a free throw. If they missed we had to run again, then shoot another free throw. It wasn’t that big of a deal because all of us were at least decent free-throw shooters.

I wonder if the coaches don’t try to tinker with shot mechanics, or if the players are just completely unwilling to listen? That being said, I don’t think the issue with any of them is mechanics. Ausar and Lovering both have wildly inconsistent shooting motions on their free throws. It should look EXACTLY the same every time. I got to the point with free throws that I could tell the instant the ball began to roll of my fingers whether it was going in or not. I knew exactly what it felt like to make a free throw from my toes up through the tip of my middle finger. These guys are clearly not practicing their free throws enough to get to that point.

[Kellso]

You can see the FT mechanics are fundamentally good. The head is a different story.

[chinngiskhaan]

we need someone that has a green light to allow the other guys to get open. Without Madsen, even when he is chucking bricks, we would have no real three point threat and our offense would come to a screeching halt.

[Utopia]

I get your thinking, but I disagree. I’m not saying to bench Madsen, just that he shouldn’t take so many contested shots. The defense will still have to guard him closely so he doesn’t get open shots, but he should pass up contested shots for the offense to work for a better shot. Chucking tough shots that only convert 25% — all those misses are empty possessions. He’s 3-22 3PT in the last two games. There’s no way high-volume shooting at those percentages is a net positive.

What I’ve noticed in the last three wins is a lot of effective two-man play between the bigs that is creating a lot of layups/dunks, such as quick touch passes from the high-post to another big back-cutting to the basket. This team lacks in athleticisim and individual scoring talent, but they actually execute sets and pass really well. Tonight Gabe stopped forcing shots in the 2nd half and we played much more through the post and we were better off for it. Also, playing more through the interior could create more inside-out open 3pt shots.

[Hahnenwk]

We had a higher free throw percentage than YBU.

[D T]

Went 4-12 from the charity stripe in OT alone….Unbelievable!!

[EagleMountainUte]

This is why I don’t want to really invest in going to the games. Look at how pathetic that percentage is.
You gotta make your team at least above 70% every game. Those are the effort things as well. Utah runs away with this game if you just capitalize when the other team gives you free shots.

[GameForAnyFuss]

This is why I don’t want to really invest in going to the games. Look at how pathetic that percentage is.

I get what you’re saying, but do you still invest in going to football games despite our passing percentage being 103rd in D1 this past season? If yes, why the difference?

[EagleMountainUte]

I am extremely critical of Whitt and Harlan lately. Have been since the decision to cart out the million dollar man Rising back to back. Whitt and Scalley still run a quality defense. In fact it is basically one of the best in the nation.
Free throws are the easiest shot in any sport. 70% is low bar I set for the worst college team. You are making the game to hard if you don’t practice that. Everyone knows it is practice, coaching and effort. It shows fans you don’t care.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I agree with everything you said. But you didn’t answer my question. Do you still invest in going to football games despite our passing percentage being 103rd in D1 this past season? And if yes, why the difference?

I’m not trying to noodle you…I’m just curious about how fan psychology works and this is a particularly interesting one to me.

[EagleMountainUte]

I already said Utah’s defense is top notch and you can see the effort.
Despite having a terrible offense Bernard is fun to watch.
Fan experience on game day eclipses anything Basketball could do. Tailgate.
NEZ

Although Andre Miller and Keith Van Horn are still my favorite memories growing up. Oregon State and TCU in 2008 might have beat it out. The Van Horn vs Duncan game was outstanding though.

This will be petty but I don’t like Smith. I like Scalley. I like Whittingham. I like Football more than Basketball. College Women’s basketball is actually more entertaining to watch than the NBA or men’s.

[GameForAnyFuss]

Good answer…thanks.

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