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SEC defense was really strong this season

Started by niels_boar, March 21, 2017, 01:49:03 pm

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niels_boar

March 21, 2017, 01:49:03 pm
It was somewhat masked by the incredible number of fouls called during the regular season.  Six SEC teams were in the top-30 in FTs made per 100 possessions.  The SEC looked somewhat lacking in skill due to low FG percentages.  Apparently that was at least partially due to the defense played in the conference.

The ACC has learned it the hard way in the NCAAT. A common theme coming out of tobacco road after the first week of the tournament is how "aggressive" and "physical" SEC teams are on D. The SEC has a surplus of long athletes on the baseline and bully guards.

UF held UVA to their lowest points per possession of the season.  Virginia's only performance that was even close was at Chapel Hill.  Of course, the national media jokes about how bad UVA is on O instead of giving UF any credit. Also, a common theme.  ACC dominance is due to ACC dominance.  ACC suckage and SEC dominance are due to random unpredictability. 

Duke had been over 1.10 ppp in 15 of their last 17 games, including all their ACCT games.  USC held them to 1.08 ppp.  Their win was as much as about D as otherworldly offense.  They held Duke's supposedly unstoppable perimeter game in check.  USC had a good game on O, especially for them, but Duke still would have beaten them or been in a nail-biter if they had brought the same offensive output as they had against UNC and Notre Dame in the ACCT.  Duke averaged 1.16 ppp on the season.

UK also held Wichita St. to their second lowest efficiency of the season.  Aside:  if Wichita State wants a higher seeding, they should play some teams with winning records. 25 of their 29 wins were against teams that finished .500 or worse.  They were better than their seeding, but who knew for certain?  You don't get a high seeding because you were good last season. 

Even defensively maligned Arkansas held UNC to their fourth worst offensive performance of the season, without much help from the refs I might add.  In fact, Arkansas has finished the season in the top-80 in Pomeroy defensive efficiency after being #150+ in January.  For the third year in a row our defense improved dramatically in February and March.  Remember that next season before you count us out when the inevitable inexcusable loss to ____ occurs next January.  Yeah, I wish we would get the D together a little more quickly, too.   Better late than never.  The difference between this year and last is that the O kept improving also.  It got worse, as the big three wore down, last season. This team was stronger in March than even the Qualls-Portis team.  Too bad they didn't get a better draw...or a couple of more calls.
The jawbone of an ass is just as dangerous a weapon today as in Sampson's time.

HogBreath

March 21, 2017, 01:54:25 pm #1
Quote from: niels_boar on March 21, 2017, 01:49:03 pm
   You don't get a high seeding because you were good last season. 

North Carolina and Duke said yeah that's right.  And you also don't get to always play home games in the dance either.  Or have the refs always in your back pocket.
I said...LSU has often been an overrated team.

That ignoramus Draconian Sanctions said..if we're overrated, why are we ranked higher than you are?
 

niels_boar

March 21, 2017, 04:50:23 pm #2
Quote from: HogBreath on March 21, 2017, 01:54:25 pm
North Carolina and Duke said yeah that's right.  And you also don't get to always play home games in the dance either.  Or have the refs always in your back pocket.

Wichita State played 24 games against teams that were .500 or worse.  They won 30 games.  By comparison, we played 11 games against teams .500 or worse and won 26.  Wichita State had to be good to run the table on the road in the MVC, even if it was crap.  That points out how difficult it is to win on the road consistently in conference, no matter how apparently weak the conference is.  Still, you have to play somebody.  Illinois St. also only lost one game in the MVC. They didn't beat anybody in nonconference that made the postseason.  I just can't blame the committee for being skeptical.  I don't see how you could possibly have seeded WS higher than a #8-seed, which wouldn't have necessarily made their draw any better.

The ACC looked great on the computer. In fairness Duke had more top-50 wins than anybody in the nation.  However, I'm getting more and more skeptical of comparing conferences using the computer polls.  A lot of those wins don't look near as good now, and the notion that Syracuse got robbed is now laughable. The SEC looked fine against the ACC and Big 12 in actual head-to-head games this season. That Ga Tech didn't just get hammered in the ACC should have been a warning that the ACC was not all that. The number of bids clearly have higher variance than the actual quality of the conferences.

What's irritating are reporters like Norlander at CBS who wrote that the SEC looked strong but "remember it was only the fifth-best conference".  Based on what? The discredited  computer rankings?  In re-ranking the SS he has UF #8 and UNC #7, whom he dropped because they struggled against "just-OK Arkansas".  Yet, Pomeroy has them #2 and #3.  There seems to be selective trust in the computer polls.

There just aren't enough games between conferences to accurately contrast them, and most of those games are in November and December.  Minnesota clearly didn't dominate the Arkansas team that showed up Greenville. IMO the committee needs to get away from pretending that you can ignore conference results and compare teams independently on "body of work".  They need to put some weight on conference standings for the power conferences.  The feedback effects in SOS can unfairly lift or depress the ranking of the entire conference.  Hence, you get ACC and Big 12 teams with all these extra chances at "quality" wins, which may or may not be a fiction.  We actually beat somebody! Well, maybe.
The jawbone of an ass is just as dangerous a weapon today as in Sampson's time.

daBoar

March 21, 2017, 08:05:35 pm #3
Quote from: niels_boar on March 21, 2017, 01:49:03 pm
.....
Even defensively maligned Arkansas held UNC to their fourth worst offensive performance of the season, without much help from the refs I might add.  In fact, Arkansas has finished the season in the top-80 in Pomeroy defensive efficiency after being #150+ in January.  For the third year in a row our defense improved dramatically in February and March. 
Nice analysis, Niels.  I'm already ready for next season.

hogman99

March 21, 2017, 08:42:39 pm #4
During the NCAA tournament the refs let them play. This was a benefit to our style of defense and the games had a great flow and were exciting.  I wish they would call games like that in the regular season. I just don't see that happening unless more coaches call for it.

BannerMountainMan

March 21, 2017, 08:44:08 pm #5
Quote from: hogman99 on March 21, 2017, 08:42:39 pm
During the NCAA tournament the refs let them play. This was a benefit to our style of defense and the games had a great flow and were exciting.  I wish they would call games like that in the regular season. I just don't see that happening unless more coaches call for it.
boy they really let them play when that dude ran Bailey over and took 5 steps
"Michael Qualls with the dunk at the buzzer, it goes and Arkansas wins, it goes and Arkansas wins"

hogman99

March 22, 2017, 08:33:44 am #6
Quote from: BannerMountainMan on March 21, 2017, 08:44:08 pm
boy they really let them play when that dude ran Bailey over and took 5 steps

Never said they didn't miss some calls just the play on all sides was more physical with refs calling less fouls than normal.

hogsanity

March 22, 2017, 09:38:16 am #7
Quote from: hogman99 on March 22, 2017, 08:33:44 am
Never said they didn't miss some calls just the play on all sides was more physical with refs calling less fouls than normal.

For the most part there have been fewer fouls in NCAAt games than the regular season, especially when adjusted to take into account on purpose fouls when teams are trying to stop the clock. Several games have seen 1 or both teams not reach the bonus in one or both halves.
People ask me what I do in winter when there is no baseball.  I will tell you what I do. I stare out the window, and I wait for spring.

"Anything goes wrong, anything at all, your fault, my fault, nobodies fault, I'm going to blow your head off."  John Wayne in BIG JAKE

JayBell

March 22, 2017, 10:36:54 am #8
Referees remained a lingering issue in the SEC this season, despite claims that the conference was fixing the problem.  Still way too many touch fouls and poor game management.  NCAA referees are bad as a whole, but it still feels like the SEC stands out.

I hope it improves next season and I hope even more Anderson gets his team to play defense the way they did down the stretch.  With the talent and athleticism Arkansas is bringing back, they are going to be able to harass teams on defense.  Could be really, really fun.

hogman99

March 22, 2017, 03:24:17 pm #9
Quote from: JayBell on March 22, 2017, 10:36:54 am
Referees remained a lingering issue in the SEC this season, despite claims that the conference was fixing the problem.  Still way too many touch fouls and poor game management.  NCAA referees are bad as a whole, but it still feels like the SEC stands out.

I hope it improves next season and I hope even more Anderson gets his team to play defense the way they did down the stretch.  With the talent and athleticism Arkansas is bringing back, they are going to be able to harass teams on defense.  Could be really, really fun.

Could not agree more. The pace and flow of the games in the tournament has been great. Also, the product on the court has been much more exciting and fun to watch.
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