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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 4527180, member: 12088"] Why are fans so quick to assume poor shooting is an isolated occurrence unrelated to everything else going on in a game? This happened in the game against Stanford in the final Four last year, too. Their dreadful shooting was just bad luck. Nothing at all to do with their opponent then either. I guess it's a form of self-comforting behavior. Zia shot poorly today, well below her season average, even below her average against ranked opponents, neither of which were all that good to begin with. In this game, both teams played great defense, which means Zia was defended more closely than usual, but also that she was asked to defend more energetically than usual. Both these things have an impact. No one's doubting she's a good player, maybe even a great one. But take a player out of her comfort zone, as Dawn did today, and there are costs. Now comes the chorus of denials: "But she's always defended that closely." [lol] or "But she always face guards opponents on the perimeter all game." [lmao] And my personal favorite "But she's been shooting great this year." [well, yes, sort of, compared to last year, lol, but not when we look at ranked opponents] And of course, there's this: Did SC grow stronger? I'm not sure I see it, if I look at the only comparable game, against Stanford. Seems like SC is pretty much where it was in relation to its real rivals then and now. Or does SC have other rivals I don't know about? Let's call it even and say SC's game has progressed alongside its true rivals. [B]SC is still the best team in the land. But fortunately there are a few teams that can pose an interesting challenge. Otherwise, what would be the point of being that good?[/B] [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach