bawitdaball said:
We continue to live and die by the 3 ball. I still think we shoot the ball from behind the arc too much, and too quick in the shot clock. If the shots are falling, it works and we build a lead. The second they stop, we lose control. Walker didn't drive to the basket at the clip we will need in other competitions, and I feel the second half went away from our post play. Living by the 3 is why Iowa State hasn't won a Big 12 regular season in who knows how long (if ever).
I see it very different.
You go with what the defense gives you. They started collapsing on Vonleh after the initial part of the game where we were having success going into her to try to take away the entry pass. If they are over-defending the inside or making it hazardous to pass into or drive into it, it is ill-advised to try it as your primary means of attack. Before they did that we were passing into her and there were several Walker drives. We did this until they adjusted. They then never adjusted to do anything to shut down the 3-line. I suspect had they done that we would have gone back to the attack we used to start the game.
Look at the Big XII seasons stats for 3-pt shooting:
https://big12sports.com/stats.aspx?path=wbball&year=2024There are two teams that quickly come to mind that have the inside presence that would seem to limit the need for 3-point shooting, KSU (Lee) and TCU (Prince). KSU has taken 310 3's (average of 22.14 per game) and TCU has taken 375 3's (average of 28.85 per game). Baylor, in comparison, has taken 299 3's (average of 23 per game). I see nothing in those stats that Baylor is "living by the three" in comparison to our major competition nor that it is our primary offensive plan.
You do what you need to do to win a particular game based on the defense which presents itself. On the flip side I can remember a few games in NCAA tournaments in the past where we died because we didn't really have a 3 game like we do today to go to when the middle was Times Square on New Year's Eve.
