FalconBlog--Triumphs and Trials in the BGSU Falcon Nation

When looking through our men's hoop statistics, I did find us highly ranked nationally in one category--percentage of points that came on 2FG's.  We led the MAC and were third in the nation with over 62%.  This is not a huge surprise....we like to play inside out, and certainly you had to notice that we did not get to the line or make 3s in any huge numbers.

I decided to take a look at the other teams that were above 60%, of which there were 14.  (These stats are for conference games only.  Clearly, it is possible to win with numbers like this, and possible to really stink.  Some observations:

• 7 of the 14 had winning records.
• 6 of the 14 had losing records.
• 2 of the teams made the NCAA Tournament, and one (UNC) was a high seed.
• Others (UIC, Iowa and Manhattan) were really bad in their conference.
• At least 2 of these teams fired their coach.

So, I started to analyze whether any of these teams were able to combine 2FGs% with 3s or FTs and become something other than one-dimensional, until I realized you just aren't very likely to see that.  If you score 60%+ in one category, you're going to get some 3s and some FTs just as a matter of course, and therefore, you're unlikely to have 60% 2FG, 10% 3FG and 30% FTs.  They are going to be pretty evenly split between 3FG and FTs.

Finally, I would surmise that a couple of the most successful teams were making their 2FGs in transition and not in half-court sets.

Now, add in Coach Orr's inside-out philosophy.  The idea is that you are supposed to be able to get inside, get fouled or kick it out.  So, you might actually find that to truly run an inside-out offense, you don't want numbers quite this high.  I will look later at BG's inability to draw fouls and what role that might have played in our offensive issues.