[BostonCard]

I'm inclined to agree with qwerty.  Sure, it is a truism that if we had made all five of our three points attempt, we'd have had 9 more points and made a close-ish 5 point win into a 14-point blow-out.  But 40% three point field goal percentage is roughly about what one could reasonably expect.  I mean, even the best three point shooting teams don't get above 50% (https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-wo...t/team/118), so any improvement on 2/5 is likely to be due to statistical variation than what you can and should expect.  Moreover, three-point shooting is influenced by outside factors, such as the opposing defense.

On the other hand, a free throw percentage of 75% is within the realm of what can be expected, and the best teams shoot 80% from the free throw line.  Had we shot 75% on the night, it would have turned a 9/21 FT shooting night to something like 15 or 16/21, and made a 5-point game into an 11 or 12 point game.  Importantly, free throw shooting is not influenced by the opposing defense, so it ought to be more dependable.

Lastly, free throw shooting influences opposing strategy.  If you are a poor free throw shooting team, the opposing defense will start intentionally fouling earlier because it stops the clock.  So, in the extreme case, if your free throw shooting is awful, you'll get fouled very early.

BC

[BostonCard]

I'm inclined to agree with qwerty.  Sure, it is a truism that if we had made all five of our three points attempt, we'd have had 9 more points and made a close-ish 5 point win into a 14-point blow-out.  But 40% three point field goal percentage is roughly about what one could reasonably expect.  I mean, even the best three point shooting teams don't get above 50% (https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-wo...t/team/118), so any improvement on 2/5 is likely to be due to statistical variation than what you can and should expect.  Moreover, three-point shooting is influenced by outside factors, such as the opposing defense.

On the other hand, a free throw percentage of 75% is within the realm of what can be expected, and the best teams shoot 80% from the free throw line.  Had we shot 75% on the night, it would have turned a 9/21 FT shooting night to something like 15 or 16/21, and made a 5-point game into an 11 or 12 point game.  Importantly, free throw shooting is not influenced by the opposing defense, so it ought to be more dependable.

Lastly, free throw shooting influences opposing strategy.  If you are a poor free throw shooting team, the opposing defense will start intentionally fouling earlier because it stops the clock.  So, in the extreme case, if your free throw shooting is awful, you'll get fouled very early.

BC