Does 45% FG% Against Mercer Imply "Offense Needs Improvement"?

[Blakeon18]

If Texas can knock off Stanford, I'd be thrilled.

 

[meyers7]

I'm in the win and advance camp. However, if our FG% is closer to 50%, our chances of winning go up. I'd love to see UCONN at 50%/38%/78%. But I'll take a win first.

 

[Beemer]

I'm not exactly thrilled with 45% shooting but I'll take it IF they cut down on turnovers and start making free throws. Every point & attempt to score points becomes more important as they advance in the tournament.

 

[Cornell Lt]

I think that with 50% of the roster being freshman and sophomores there has to be nerves. That should dissipate as they proceed through the tournament and thus their productivity will become more in sync with what they are capable of.

 

[jdote33]

I did rewatch the first half of the game as I had thought the starting unit played poorly offensively but that wasn't really the case. Dont quote me but they probably had atleast 14 points with 4 minutes left but only ended up with 17 in the first. so it wasn't really a poor start offensively by that group. I think it was some of the live ball turnovers and the inability to get Azzi a lot of looks that I was concerned about. But they were fine.

 

[Tonyc]

Against our defense teams will not shoot well. With that said we have been executing on both sides of the ball really well. If we get a lead and they hold the ball they will have problems. We have players that are clutch and came to UConn to play in games just like these NCAA tournament games. The love the pressure and perform well under pressure. During the season we saw what Caroline could do as a go to player and we've seen Paige to it too. Christyn has gotten off to some very quick starts and we have leadership in Evina and Nika to go along with Paige and Christyn. Our defensive is going to rise to the occasion and opponents are gonna struggle. Geno has faced UCF many times and knows how to get us ready for them but this time we are 9 deep.

 

[DefenseBB]

To me, I just want our best shooters taking the most shots in big games which means-Paige, Azzi first and foremost, CD with mid-range and layups at the rim. CW should really only be taking those fast break layups and an occasional 3 pointer. Then let Dorka and Aaliyah rule down low with Liv at the top facilitating. That solves our shooting "woes" if that's what you want to call them. To me, it's minimizing the turnovers that have plagued us all year.

 

[TCC Kid]

The Mercer postgame thread is now closed, but one of the early comments made in that thread was that UConn's field goal make percentage of 44.8% (in round numbers, 45%) meant "in polite terms" that the offense needs improvement. Apparently the poster felt that against an overmatched opponent, anything less than a 50% shooting percentage is a negative indicator for the quality of UConn's offense. His post got a number of Likes, so it appears that many Boneyarders agreed with him.

A number of responses were made, including that South Carolina shot a similarly low percentage against its much weaker first-round opponent. The original poster replied to that with a comment to the effect that SC's offense also needs improvement, but it is less urgent for them because their defense is so much better than UConn's (a dubious claim in my mind). Another response was that SC faced Mercer last year in the NCAA first round, and was much less successful offensively than UConn was yesterday. A third response was that the relatively low shooting percentage was the result of "rust" after an 11-day layoff.

While all of these responses have validity, I think some additional points need to be made. One very significant fact is that UConn's shooting percentage in the first half of yesterday's game was in fact greater than 50%: UConn was 15-for-29 in the first half, or 52%. The second half was not as good (15-for-38, or 39%), despite the 20-0 third quarter. For the game, UConn was 30-for-67. The higher shooting percentage in the first half casts some doubt on the "rust" theory, but it does mean that the UConn offense was humming at a normal rate until the game was basically decided.

The other point is that if you watch the game (as I did both live and on replay), it is very apparent that UConn's shooting percentage was heavily affected by missed layups and missed uncontested putbacks. In the second half, I counted at least six FGA attempts by UConn in this category. If the total for the entire game was more than 7 (and I think it was probably in the 10-12 range), then deducting these from the total of 67 shot attempts would bring the shooting percentage above 50% for the game.

But how can you justify such a deduction? Layups and putbacks are part of a team's offense, so an inability to hit these shots may imply that this part of the "offense" needs improvement. But usually when people talk about an offense needing improvement (or being seriously deficient, which is what the poster really meant), they mean that the team is not getting open for good shots, or the wrong people are taking them, or that bad shots are being taken. If a large portion of the misses are simply missed layups and the like, then none of those things are true about UConn's offense against Mercer. All you can expect of a coaching staff is to run an offensive scheme that gets a shooter open for a shot that is in her range -- and a layup opportunity is the best example of the success of the designed offense, regardless of whether it is made. That was happening, and the "adjusted" shooting percentage reflects that.

Now, if someone wants to complain that the UConn offense had too many turnovers (16), I would agree with that, provided that it is also noted that UConn had a 23-8 margin over Mercer in points off turnovers. But against that kind of an opponent, a turnover total closer to 10 would be a reasonable expectation.

If this were an implication by the Coach that would be note worthy. But an inference by a fan is just that and has no essence other than the comment. I believe all fans are allowed their view, thoughts on how they see the game. That is 98 percent of the fun of the Boneyard--commenting. I see Caroline and Paige riding their white horses to the rescue every game. You know that isn't true, but to me Paige and Caroline make this game what it is.

 

[TCC Kid]

To me, I just want our best shooters taking the most shots in big games which means-Paige, Azzi first and foremost, CD with mid-range and layups at the rim. CW should really only be taking those fast break layups and an occasional 3 pointer. Then let Dorka and Aaliyah rule down low with Liv at the top facilitating. That solves our shooting "woes" if that's what you want to call them. To me, it's minimizing the turnovers that have plagued us all year.

I understand your thought and it sounds realistic. But isn't it more realistic to say: Any one of the 9, unless at crunch time, should take, the "make-able, shot when open? Geno is finally blessed with OFFENSE. I want Dorka to take that 3 shot or under the basket shot anytime she has it. Same goes for Caroline, Fudd, Paige. Edwards anytime the goes to her down deep (of course, I'm assuming these ladies understand what the defense will allow.
At crunch I want 1. Paige, 2. Caroline, 3. Dorka, 4. Fudd (all can hit the 3 or drive)

 

[HuskyNan]

If Texas can knock off Stanford, I'd be thrilled.

Yep. Stanford sleepwalked for a chunk of the game last night then Lexi Hull woke up and took Kansas to the woodshed. Stanford looked a little scary during the run, got to say

 

[DefenseBB]

Lexie Hull was on FIRE the whole night but yes, that first half was not good. 33-31? But then, they were the beast they showed at times this season. Their guard play is still suspect.

 

[Urshurak]

New avatar? Celebrating the men’s victory last night?

Yes

 

[GoUconn7961]

I'm sorry if I appear rude, but these threads are exhausting.

Every game is different. Every opponent is different. Rotations off the bench are different. Players reacting and shooting based on the opponent's defense is different. One day it's 45%, another day it's more, another day it's less.

 

[Happydad745]

UConn took the shots given to them...many from 3 pt. land. In a tighter game, teams take shots that have a better chance of going in.

 

[DEpup]

We talked about this already. The 4th quarter showed some lack of focus and there were a couple instances where like 3-4 missed put backs happened. Take those out and you're back to about 50% which is good.

It would be nice if equal time was given to the mid 40s 3pt percentage after this board cried all last year with our unUConn 3 pt percentage.

This is such a nothing burger that I will now ignore this thread.

 

[mbr33ct]

As not what UConn shooting % is...ask what the opponents shooting % is.

 

[Los24]

This is Nan's theory as well...
Geno disagrees.

So he rather focus on improving but lose? Geno's goal is to win the game in front of him this time of year above all. In the regular season you would hear him say this loss can be good, not in the tourney. There are videos of him taking about the tournament and goal is just winning.

I don't care about anyone making opinions of where they think the team can perform better (it's a fan board) but every game is different, for a bunch reasons. Point that others are making is that UConn won by a ton and people complain about performance. That is Geno's job, as fans we should enjoy the fact we won and are moving on.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

As not what UConn shooting % is...ask what the opponents shooting % is.

Well UConn got out-shot 35% to 29% by UCF and 50% to 35% from three.

But their FT defense was superb.