Last night Penn State and Iowa were in a battle. The Hawkeyes were up three, less than seconds to play in the game and on defense.
And sports fans, we call that, “Foul or Defend?”
Iowa fouled with 1.5 seconds remaining and Penn State trailing by three. Jermaine Marshall of PSU calmly sunk the first free throw. He then tried to intentionally miss the second shot, giving the Nittany Lions a chance to get an offensive rebound and tie the game.
“I tried to push it long, and I did, but it ended up going in,” said Marshall.
In 34 situations this season in college basketball, 32 times the team that fouled, came away with the win without going to overtime.
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Twitter: @CoachFinamore
It didn’t work for NC State against Virginia Tech yesterday. A tip in off an intentional miss forced OT.
John,
Obviously you missed the lane violation by Va. Tech that was not called…
But, that’s really irrelevant. The referees making calls and missing calls is all part of the risk you take when you decide on a strategy. If a team wants to foul intentionally, what’s to stop a referee from calling a flagrant or intentional foul?
Of course it’s irrelevant. You’re stating the obvious. The call was “not made” thus the basket was allowed. And of course when making the decision at the time you factor in the officials. I have had coaches tell me they will not foul because they don’t trust the officials.
Now, have you ever coached a game where you were presented with this situation?
Tell me your mind-set?
Thanks
As I’ve told you, I’m a fan, not a coach. But, with all of the variables involved, including referees, players making bad decisions, etc, I would be inclined to play defense except maybe in very narrow, well controlled situations. If I had a 3 point lead I might consider fouling if (1) my opponent had to go the length of the court and had no more than 6 or 7 seconds left, (2) there was a timeout so I could make sure my players knew what we wanted them to do, and (3) we could put light pressure on the inbound pass and then bump off the player who receives the inbound pass so there is no risk of giving up 3 FT’s or leaving too much time on the clock.
The studies that have looked at actual game results over an extended period of time (like the one Pomeroy released this week) have shown that each strategy has had pretty much equal success. That being the case, I would lean toward playing solid defense and taking my chances instead of getting too cute with intentional fouling. But, I can understand why some coaches (but not very many) prefer fouling.
Oh that’s right – you’re a fan. I forgot.
Sorry.
But thanks for following.
I talked to a coach this morning; told me, “There really isn’t any right or wrong way to go.”
Think he’s right.
You see, as a coach, you’re on the sidelines with a few seconds to play, that situation can never be duplicated by anyone.
It’s not an easy call.
Hope all is well.
I agree that there is no right or wrong answer, which is why it bothers me that “know it all” commentators and fans think they have the right answer. It’s a lot easier to second guess than to have to make the decisions, hope your players execute the way you want, and then live with the results.
Well said Johnny…