BUFFALO — On the eve of the madness commencing in full, Miami (the Ohio one), dazzled with its passing and barrage of 3-pointers.
The upstart RedHawks wanted to put up 40 3s in the game. They took 41 and made 16. That’s less than 30%, but Miami had a 33-point advantage beyond the arc and beat SMU by 10.
The rage in basketball is to maximize 3-point attempts and limit any shots inside the arc that don’t come in the paint. It’s all in the name of efficiency. Three is more than two and shots near the basket have the best chance to go in.
Simple, right?
The analytical approach makes sense, but doesn’t take into account everything. What if the 3s don’t fall? and what happens when the opposing team has bigger bodies roaming the paint?
Eventually fundamentals and basics are necessary to win games.
High Point tried to duplicate the Miami recipe against No. 5 Wisconsin Thursday, making 15 of 40 3s to record a plus-18 advantage beyond the arc. But when High Point needed a basket, it wasn’t a 3.
Reserve guard Chase Johnston entered the game with 136 field goal attempts. All but four were 3-pointers. But after a rebound, Johnston got behind the defense for a layup with 11.2 seconds remaining as No. 12 High Point shocked Wisconsin 83-82.
“I wasn’t really thinking whether it was a 2 or a 3,” Johnston said. “I was just trying to put it in and win this game.”
On the opposite side of the country, the bombs away approach didn’t work as well for South Florida at KeyBank Center. It shouldn’t be a surprise the Bulls weren’t going to put a moratorium on 3s after shooting 1 of 17 in the first half against No. 6 Louisville.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, South Florida coach Bryan Hodgson learned from Nate Oats, who rode that offensive approach from the University at Buffalo to Alabama.
Hodgson’s Bulls just kept chucking. They made a few down the stretch, but that’s not what whittled their 23-point hole to single digits in the second half.
That was pressure defense, rebounding and finishing in the paint. South Florida outscored Louisville 44-30 in the paint and snatched 18 offensive rebounds. The problem was that South Florida went 5 of 33 from 3, while Louisville — which opted for quality over quantity — went 13 of 25 beyond the arc.
“I know the critics will say we took too many 3s, but I thought we missed some really good ones,” Hodgson said. “Did we take some bad ones? Sure. But we’ve had our offensive identity all year; it’s been very successful. The most efficient offense in the history of the program.”
Great. A tremendous accomplishment. Except the goal is to win games, not set records. And sometimes winning games means breaking away from what’s comfortable.
Because when underdogs face teams like Michigan State, which rolled No. 14 North Dakota State, 92-67, in Buffalo’s second game, there is little room for error. While coaches are relying increasingly more on analytics, Michigan State’s 71-year-old coach Tom Izzo still relies on what’s gotten him to 28 consecutive NCAA tournaments.
The Spartans were plus-12 on the glass and had a 10-point advantage in the paint, while holding the Bison to 6 of 25 from beyond the arc. And North Dakota State didn’t have the number of big bodies to match Michigan State’s.
Michigan State’s Carson Cooper (6-foot-11) and Jaxon Kohler (6-9) average 22.5 points and 16.1 rebounds per game. They combined for 32 points and 19 rebounds on 61% shooting against North Dakota State.
“You can win in different ways. But to win consistently, where you got to come in night in, night out, playing in different arenas, domes, pro arenas, you better bring your lunch bucket,” Izzo said. “And you better bring your defense and your rebounding. And that’s what we’ve done most of my career.”