Defending the paint

Here's the latest Cracked Sidewalks contribution from Ray Floriani of Hoopville.net and Basketball Times:


I can’t believe it was eleven weeks ago on a snowy, icy Wednesday the Big East Tournament tipped off. One of the media goodies is the Big East post-season guide which is loaded with statistics, the type yours truly loves to break down.

A recent favorite of mine has been two point field goal percentage. Below I’ve composed a list of the Big East rankings in two point FG percentage defense. This gives a good read on a team’s interior defense. Granted, not every two point attempt is in the paint but a great deal are. The fifteen foot jumper, as coach Al would have said, ‘has gone the way of the dinosaur’. Transition layups are different than post ups or put backs. Still, if you are not back on defense to stop the break and easy hoop, you have team defensive issues.

At any rate, the standings are below. (Only Big East regular season games were computed)

Two Point FG % by team

1. SU -- 40%
2. UConn -- 42%
3. DPU -- 44%
4. GU -- 44%
5. Ville -- 45%
6. Nova -- 45%
7. ND -- 46%
8. USF -- 47%
9. MU -- 47%
10. RU -- 47%
11. PC -- 48%
12. Pitt 48%
13. SJU -- 50%
14. UC -- 50%
15. WVU -- 53%
16. SHU -- 54%

A few notes:

• No surprise at the bottom. Seton Hall struggled inside and West Virginia was very perimeter oriented but did a great job hiding defensive deficiencies.
• Syracuse is at the top largely due to Darryl Watkins' and Terrence Roberts' presence inside.
• UConn benefited from Haseem Thabeet’s conference-leading sixty rejections and probably a few other altered attempts.
• Marquette finished ninth in this category as they did in overall field goal defense. The Golden Eagles, despite not being exceptional upfront, were not overly exploited in the lane on defense.

Ray Floriani