Lon's Best Team?

[MsProudSooner]

Someone on another board asked if this was Lon's best team.

I think it's definitely his deepest team. I think it's definitely his toughest team, top to bottom.

The question is this: Could this team beat Buddy's Final Four team?

 

[CoachTalk]

Someone on another board asked if this was Lon's best team.

I think it's definitely his deepest team. I think it's definitely his toughest team, top to bottom.

The question is this: Could this team beat Buddy's Final Four team?

no. not beating buddy's team.

 

[Darwin]

no. not beating buddy's team.

Totally agree

 

[Max Power]

Lon’s 2nd best team but not better than 2016

 

[AdaSooner]

Someone on another board asked if this was Lon's best team.

I think it's definitely his deepest team. I think it's definitely his toughest team, top to bottom.

The question is this: Could this team beat Buddy's Final Four team?

Deepest and toughest? Yes. Best? No. Buddy’s team was better on offense and good enough on defense to beat the current team. Buddy, Isaiah, Spangler and Woodard could create points on their own, consistently. Consistency on offense is not a strength with this team.

 

[sheepdogs1]

They are both competitive and fun to watch and that's the key. Where they stand in pecking order is purely secondary to me and perhaps others, too.

 

[Max Power]

Deepest and toughest? Yes. Best? No. Buddy’s team was better on offense and good enough on defense to beat the current team. Buddy, Isaiah, Spangler and Woodard could create points on their own, consistently. Consistency on offense is not a strength with this team.

And as much as i love watching this team, we all have to admit defending the 3 is a weakness (290th in the country in 3 point field goal percentage against). As a team we shot over 42% from 3 in 2016.

 

[WichitaSooner]

And as much as i love watching this team, we all have to admit defending the 3 is a weakness. As a team we shot over 42% from 3 in 2016.

Defending the three? A weakness? On this year’s team? Since we made the lineup change five weeks ago, teams are under 33 percent from three and the number would be even lower if not for one game (ISU) where we didn’t defend it well in the first half.

One amazing stat is that since the lineup change, we have the most efficient defense in the conference, even better than Baylor, who is almost universally (and properly) recognized as the best defense in the country.

 

[sheepdogs1]

Defending the three? A weakness? On this year’s team? Since we made the lineup change five weeks ago, teams are under 33 percent from three and the number would be even lower if not for one game (ISU) where we didn’t defend it well in the first half.

One amazing stat is that since the lineup change, we have the most efficient defense in the conference, even better than Baylor, who is almost universally (and properly) recognized as the best defense in the country.

Does the shooting percentage always reflect the defensive prowess of the opposing team? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Surely, shots missed can be open looks which then falls on the shooter in question while a missed shot could be a function of the defensive player being in the proper place at the proper time. Each brings about the same result, a missed shot, but they are not one in the same.

 

[skyvue]

Does the shooting percentage always reflect the defensive prowess of the opposing team? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Surely, shots missed can be open looks which then falls on the shooter in question while a missed shot could be a function of the defensive player being in the proper place at the proper time. Each brings about the same result, a missed shot, but they are not one in the same.

And sometimes a well-covered player throws up a prayer and it goes in. That still counts against the defense.

 

[Max Power]

Defending the three? A weakness? On this year’s team? Since we made the lineup change five weeks ago, teams are under 33 percent from three and the number would be even lower if not for one game (ISU) where we didn’t defend it well in the first half.

One amazing stat is that since the lineup change, we have the most efficient defense in the conference, even better than Baylor, who is almost universally (and properly) recognized as the best defense in the country.

290 out of 357 teams.

 

[AdaSooner]

And as much as i love watching this team, we all have to admit defending the 3 is a weakness (290th in the country in 3 point field goal percentage against). As a team we shot over 42% from 3 in 2016.

Being ranked 290th in shooting the three doesn’t have anything to do with defending the three. Wichita is right, our three point defense is much improved since the lineup change. I also think our shooting from behind the arc has improved. I have no proof of that, it’s just a feeling I get.

 

[Max Power]

Being ranked 290th in shooting the three doesn’t have anything to do with defending the three. Wichita is right, our three point defense is much improved since the lineup change. I also think our shooting from behind the arc has improved. I have no proof of that, it’s just a feeling I get.

290 out of 357 is bad. that's not us shooting it, that's us defending it.

we are 169 out of 357 in three point shooting percentage on offense

 

[sheepdogs1]

And sometimes a well-covered player throws up a prayer and it goes in. That still counts against the defense.

And I agree, but we didn't shoot 100% from the free throw line because of poor defense and the same goes for the miserable shooting percentage for West Virginia. I'm not sure how open looks and non-open looks are treated the same as to whether the defensive player was in the proper position. A player dropping an open pass because the defensive back slips to the ground is not an example of good defense. Clearly, we would like to have proper defensive positioning and a hand in the face as the rudimentary cause for a missed shot versus any other outcome because that type of defense is rooted in "discipline" as opposed to the luck of the Irish.


Chances are, over the long term, that contested shots have a less make % versus open looks. Thus it is called "playing the percentages," as it is rooted in baseball, football, golf and a host of other sport and non-sport related activities. You don't hit on 20 when the dealer has an exposed 18 regardless of whether you draw an ace.

 

[WichitaSooner]

290 out of 357 teams.

Find the numbers from the lineup change on. We are not the same team we were the first five weeks. Harkless wasn’t eligible for four games and barely played in the first five games he was eligible for. Including the numbers from the first month, when we had two bigs on the floor at a time, has no bearing on how the team we currently put on the floor defends the three. And of course teams miss some open shots against us. That puts us in the same category as literally every team who has ever played the sport.

 

[skyvue]

I know it's "ifs and buts," but take out the two games in which our opponents were simply on fire from behind the arc (Xavier and ISU), and we're ranked nearly 130 spots higher, tied for 166th. Admittedly, one can't just erase two games, but they undeniably skew the stats.

Wichita's point is an apt one -- the team we're watching now is not the team we were seeing earlier this season

 

[opsooner]

Deepest and toughest? Yes. Best? No. Buddy’s team was better on offense and good enough on defense to beat the current team. Buddy, Isaiah, Spangler and Woodard could create points on their own, consistently. Consistency on offense is not a strength with this team.

Agree and with Spangler in there WV doesn’t get all those second chances that WV got late in that game yesterday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tmeyer3307]

It's closer than it should be between the two teams.. But we don't have a guy that could guard Spangler.. Buddy was maybe the best player in the NCAA.. Cousins vs Reaves would have been a nice matchup though.

 

[stormspencer]

Being ranked 290th in shooting the three doesn’t have anything to do with defending the three. Wichita is right, our three point defense is much improved since the lineup change. I also think our shooting from behind the arc has improved. I have no proof of that, it’s just a feeling I get.

From Kenpom, in conference games only, OU is 8th in 3-point % defense. I thought we would be better. However, in 2-point % defense, we are 2nd in the Big 12. Also, OU is #1 in the conference and top 10 in the country in "not fouling" on defense (minimizing FT opportunities for our opponents).

In eFG% defense (a metric that combines defense against the 2 and 3 point shot)....we are 5th in conference. And four of our six conference games remaining are against the worst offenses in the conference ( KSU #10, ISU #9, and OSU twice #7). If we keep playing at this level, our numbers should improve in the above categories.

 

[Max Power]

From Kenpom, in conference games only, OU is 8th in 3-point % defense. I thought we would be better. However, in 2-point % defense, we are 2nd in the Big 12.

In eFG% defense (a metric that combines defense against the 2 and 3 point shot)....we are 5th in conference. And four of our six conference games remaining are against the worst offenses in the conference ( KSU #10, ISU #9, and OSU twice #7). If we keep playing at this level, our numbers should improve in the above categories.

Oh... I see... so basically, 3 point defense, when you only include conference games, is a weakness... and the 2016 team only had the reigning NBA 3 point champion...