Post by Commissioner on Jan 24, 2021 17:16:15 GMT -5
The Titans' excellent free throw shooting this year has drawn just praise. After a 24-27 week-end against Oakland, the Titans are back in the Top 10 nationally in the category--10th, at 79.4%. Better still, it's not just because 1 or 2 guys are getting all the shots--all 8 Titans with at least 5 attempts are shooting at least 72% from the line.
Here's the hitch: The Titans aren't shooting many free throws. In fact, we rank 319th in the nation in free throw attempts per game, of 340 schools that have played this year. Nor is this just that Horizon league refs don't call fouls--we're dead last in the conference in attempts per game, at 14.6. Youngstown State (21.8), Milwaukee (21.3), and Wright State (20.7) average over 20 per game, and Oakland, Robert Morris, and Purdue-Fort Wayne average over 19 attempts per game.
All that leaves us 255th in the country in free throws made per game. There's not really much to do about this. We rely heavily on three point attempts (29th in the country in total three pointers made per game), and that doesn't get you a lot of free throws.
Here are the Titans ranked by Minutes Played/FTA:
Kuol, 9.77
Koka, 10.90
Davis, 11.32
Fraser, 12.39
Rose, 13.06
Calipari, 13.50
Waterman, 13.91
Johnson, 28.1
Isiani, 30.63
Brandon, 39.0
No attempts for Liedel, Pink, LeGreair, Thompson
Given that the top three Titans in total minutes played are Davis, Kuol, and Fraser, I don't think we'll see our free throw attempts pick up much.
I don't think all this means anything for what the Titans should be doing. It does indicate that while free throw shooting is obviously a strength, it's one whose effect is limited by our style of play.
Player | FTM-FTA | Pct. |
Isiani | 8-8 | 100.0 |
Johnson | 9-10 | 90.0 |
Davis | 35-41 | 85.4 |
Koka | 8-10 | 80.0 |
Fraser | 22-28 | 78.6 |
Kuol | 34-44 | 77.3 |
Waterman | 8-11 | 72.7 |
Rose | 13-18 | 72.2 |
Here's the hitch: The Titans aren't shooting many free throws. In fact, we rank 319th in the nation in free throw attempts per game, of 340 schools that have played this year. Nor is this just that Horizon league refs don't call fouls--we're dead last in the conference in attempts per game, at 14.6. Youngstown State (21.8), Milwaukee (21.3), and Wright State (20.7) average over 20 per game, and Oakland, Robert Morris, and Purdue-Fort Wayne average over 19 attempts per game.
All that leaves us 255th in the country in free throws made per game. There's not really much to do about this. We rely heavily on three point attempts (29th in the country in total three pointers made per game), and that doesn't get you a lot of free throws.
Here are the Titans ranked by Minutes Played/FTA:
Kuol, 9.77
Koka, 10.90
Davis, 11.32
Fraser, 12.39
Rose, 13.06
Calipari, 13.50
Waterman, 13.91
Johnson, 28.1
Isiani, 30.63
Brandon, 39.0
No attempts for Liedel, Pink, LeGreair, Thompson
Given that the top three Titans in total minutes played are Davis, Kuol, and Fraser, I don't think we'll see our free throw attempts pick up much.
I don't think all this means anything for what the Titans should be doing. It does indicate that while free throw shooting is obviously a strength, it's one whose effect is limited by our style of play.