Beating Davidson: Points in the paint

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

A lot is made of Davidson's offensive efficiency and how good they are from behind the arc. This is valid and it's what makes Davidson a scary team. Iowa isn't bad against guarding the three (we rank 78th this year in opponent's three point shooting).

However, what hasn't been discuss as much is Davidson's inefficient defense. Of all the at-large bid teams, only Indiana ranks worse in defensive efficiency. Moreover, what Davidson really struggles with is giving up points in the paint. They actually rank 9th in opponent's three point shooting percentage. What make's their defense so inefficient is how poorly they guard against points in the paint. Their tallest player in their regular rotation is 6-9 and has 3 blocks on the season. Their leading shot blocker is a 6-7 freshman who appears pretty talented, but inconsistent (like most freshmen).

Davidson's offense is scary, but with the size we have with Woodbury, Olaseni, White, and Uthoff, we should have a lot of scoring in the paint. On paper, Davidson presents a similar matchup as Indiana. If we take care of the ball we should have an efficient offensive day as we shouldn't have to rely on outside shooting, which is not our strength.

 

[LaoHawk]

I agree that IA should kill them inside out strategy like against IN,
Mich, etc. and if IA plays defense for the entire game. Below are the
stats for Davidson players' who logged significant minutes. David is a
young and shorter team, so IA should be fine if they play one of their
better games against them. I can see why ESPN crew thinks they can shoot 3s against IA since most of them have good percentages. We'll see on Friday how IA will defend the 3pt line.

Tyler Kalinoski, G 6'4" SR 35 min avg, 17 pts, 5.6 rebs, 4.1 apg, 43% 3P
Jack Gibbs, G 5'11" SO 30 min avg, 16.3 pts, 3.8 rebs, 4.8 apg, 44% 3P
Brian Sullivan, G 5'11" JR 33 min avg, 12.8 pts, 3.0 rebs, 3.9 apg, 35% 3P
Jordan Barham, G 6'4" JR 22 min avg,11.9 pts, 6.0 rebs, 1.1 apg, 47% 3P
Peyton Aldridge F 6'7" FR 30 min avg, 9.3 pts, 5.2 rebs, 1.5 apg, 39% 3P
Jake Belford F 6'9" FR 20 min avg, 7.5 pts, 4.0 rebs, 2.2 apg, 30% 3P
Oskar Michelsen F 6'9" FR 18 min avg, 5.8 pts, 1.9 rebs, 36% 3P
Jordan Watkins G 6'1" FR 12 min avg, 3.4 pts, 3.4 rebs, 46% 3P
Nathan Ekwu F 6"7" FR 12 min avg, 3.1 pts, 3.1 rebs, 38% 3P
Andrew McAuliffe F 6'8" 12 min avg, 2.8 pts, 2.8 rebs, 0%

 

[icantfindausernamethatisntused]

Originally posted by LaoHawk:
I can see why ESPN crew thinks they can shoot 3s against IA since most of them have good percentages. We'll see on Friday how IA will defend the 3pt line.

One interesting stat is Davidson's 3 point shooting at home versus on the road.

At home they shoot 45% from 3, which is one of the top 5 in the country. On the road, however, they shoot 35% from 3 which is basically average.

 

[ChiHawk1985]

So what youre saying is look for Andrew McAuliffe to go off on Friday and drop like 25 points with 6 threes?

 

[SWIowahawks]

Great, so we will be trading 2's for 3's.

If Davidson does miss a shot, it's going to be so important that we end that possession. No long offensive rebounds.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[ChiHawk1985]

Heres a link to a game from late February. Looks like Brian Sullivan is a bit of a sharp shooter and they have some quickness

Davidson game footage

 

[nu2u]

Originally posted by ChiHawk1985:
So what youre saying is look for Andrew McAuliffe to go off on Friday and drop like 25 points with 6 threes?

yep
\...either that or he will bury a 3 from the deep corner at the buzzer for the win.

 

[BubsFinn]

I'm calling it right now, McAuliffe will go off for 31 points, 11 rebounds, and go 7-8 from the three point line.

 

[bustahcap]

Davidson scored more points against Virginia in regulation then anyone else this year. 72 against that defense is impressive.

 

[SoMplsHawkI]

Originally posted by bustahcap:
Davidson scored more points against Virginia in regulation then anyone else this year. 72 against that defense is impressive.

But they gave up 80 and Virgina rates 225th in points per game.

Bottom line is we can't shoot like we did against PSU and expect to win.

 

[Mohawkeye]

Whitey and Gabe should have monster games. Our 3 point defense is improved this year, but guys still can go off against us. I hope we sellout on three point defense and make their guys try to drive and shoot over Gabe, Woody and Utoff.

 

[Packer54]

I would play man-to-man with not much help defense. Stay with your guy on the perimeter and don't drop down to help. Contest the drive or the "inside the perimeter two, but don't leave your man on the perimeter to help out. Make them beat you with twos.

 

[Pepperman]

Originally posted by SoMplsHawkI:

Bottom line is we can't shoot like we did against PSU and expect to win.

Oh, I don't know about that... I mean, I would like to think so, but you just never know.

 

[iahawkeyes17]

Originally posted by Packer54:

I would play man-to-man with not much help defense. Stay with your guy on the perimeter and don't drop down to help. Contest the drive or the "inside the perimeter two, but don't leave your man on the perimeter to help out. Make them beat you with twos.

Yep hopefully we play more man and same game plan they used against Indiana. Fran said after game plan was to do more switching on ball screens and passes out high and relied on gabe or woody to protect the rim if they get past them if they drive since they lacked a true low post scoring presence. Thought Iowa did a good job. Indiana was 10-25 or something close to that for 3. But they didn't get a lot of open uncontested looks. Plus Uthoff is an X factor with his length on whomever he is guarding if they are outside trying to shoot over him.

Offensively be interesting if Davidson plays more zone or man. Plus if they want to run White could be in for a big game. Key stat could be how many times we get to the line vs them and get them in foul trouble.