The Brigham Young Cougars have been an underwhelming basketball team this season with a record of 13-8 and surprising losses to Utah, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, and Portland. Just as there was no single reason for the fall of Rome, there is also no single reason for the lack of consistency by the Cougars. This article is the first in a short series looking at some of the key statistics that have led to inconsistencies up to this point in the season. After all, the devil is in the details.
As a team, BYU ranks 202 out of 351 teams in NCAA Division I basketball in free throw shooting percentage. The Cougars have only made 448 out of 651, or 68.8 percent, free throws on this season. The below table displays the opponent, free throws made, attempted, and the win/loss of the game for the Cougars. BYU is anything but consistent from the free throw line this year with a season high percentage of 79 percent in a loss to Massachusetts and in a win over Loyola Marymount compared to a season low of 55 percent in a loss to traditional rival Utah.
OPPONENT |
FREE THROWS MADE |
FREE THROWS ATTEMPTED |
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE |
WIN/LOSS |
Weber State |
14 |
20 |
70% |
Win |
Stanford |
28 |
43 |
65% |
Win |
Mountain St. Mary's |
18 |
30 |
60% |
Win |
Colorado Mesa |
31 |
43 |
72% |
Win |
Iowa State |
12 |
20 |
60% |
Loss |
Texas |
20 |
28 |
71% |
Win |
Wichita State |
21 |
30 |
70% |
Loss |
Utah State |
19 |
27 |
70% |
Win |
North Texas |
17 |
24 |
71% |
Win |
Massachusetts |
26 |
33 |
79% |
Loss |
Prairie View A&M |
20 |
29 |
69% |
Win |
Utah |
17 |
31 |
55% |
Loss |
Oregon |
22 |
36 |
61% |
Loss |
Loyola Marymount |
17 |
26 |
65% |
Loss |
Pepperdine |
19 |
29 |
66% |
Loss |
San Diego |
17 |
24 |
71% |
Win |
Pepperdine |
23 |
31 |
74% |
Win |
Loyola Marymount |
30 |
38 |
79% |
Win |
San Francisco |
28 |
37 |
76% |
Win |
Santa Clara |
20 |
29 |
69% |
Win |
Portland |
29 |
43 |
67% |
Loss |
TOTAL |
448 |
651 |
68.8% |
13-7 |
Although a high percentage from the charity stripe does not guarantee a win (Massachusetts), BYU tends to be more efficient in their free throws with an average of 70 percent free throw shooting in a victory compared to the 65 percent free throw shooting in a loss.
INDIVIDUALLY
The highlights for the Cougars from the free throw line come Tyler Haws, who is ranked 26th in the country in free throw percentage, and Skyler Halford. From there however, there is a major drop off from Haws' 87.4 percent and Halford's 84.1 percent, to Carlino's 69.2 percent. In a worrisome trend, Carlino's individual free throw percentages continue to decline. In a postgame interview after the loss at Portland, one of Haws laments was that he was unable to get to the free throw line a few more times. Certainly his reliability there would have helped to get a win in Portland. This table includes the free throws made, attempted, and percentage of each player on the team who has shot at least ten free throws so far this season.
PLAYER |
FREE THROWS MADE |
FREE THROWS ATTEMPTED |
FREE THROW PERCENTAGE |
|
1 |
Tyler Haws |
132 |
151 |
87.4% |
2 |
Skyler Halford |
37 |
44 |
84.1% |
3 |
Matt Carlino |
63 |
91 |
69.2% |
4 |
Anson Winder |
17 |
26 |
65.4% |
5 |
Josh Sharp |
11 |
18 |
61.1% |
6 |
Kyle Collinsworth |
82 |
136 |
60.3% |
7 |
Nate Austin |
18 |
30 |
60.0% |
8 |
Eric Mika |
59 |
99 |
59.6% |
9 |
Frank Bartley IV |
26 |
46 |
56.5% |
10 |
Luke Worthington |
2 |
8 |
25.0% |
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?
In six of BYU's eight losses this season, the Cougars have shot less than 70 percent from the free throw line. Last season BYU averaged 72.8 percent from the free throw line. This final table displays a "what-if" scenario: What if the Cougars had shot last season's average from the line in each of their losses this season? The "ADJUSTED FREE THROWS MADE" column shows how many free throws would have been made on the night had the Cougars shot at or near their season average from last year. The "DIFFERENCE IN POINTS" column is color coded to help illustrate the effect on the game: Green denotes a victory in that game (Iowa State and Oregon). Yellow denotes a possible victory, meaning that the game would have been in single digits and BYU would have had an outside chance of winning the game (think second overtime against Portland, Loyola Marymount, and Pepperdine). Red denotes that the Cougars still would have lost by double digits and therefor would have lost the game regardless (Wichita State, Utah, and Massachusetts, which would have lost two points for the Cougars).
LAST YEAR'S AVERAGE FREE THROW PERCENTAGE COMPARED TO LOSSES THIS YEAR |
||||
OPPONENT |
ADJUSTED FREE THROWS MADE |
FREE THROWS ATTEMPTED |
AT OR NEAR LAST YEARS PERCENTAGE |
DIFFERENCE IN POINTS |
Iowa State |
14.5 |
20 |
72.5% |
2.5 |
Wichita State |
21.8 |
30 |
72.7% |
0.8 |
Massachusetts |
24 |
33 |
72.7% |
-2 |
Utah |
22.5 |
31 |
72.6% |
5.5 |
Oregon |
26.2 |
36 |
72.8% |
4.2 |
Loyola Marymount |
18.9 |
26 |
72.7% |
1.9 |
Pepperdine |
21.1 |
29 |
72.8% |
2.1 |
Portland |
31.3 |
43 |
72.8% |
2.3 |
CONCLUSION
BYU's free throw woes have negatively affected the team. Wild swings in efficiency (55-79 percent) have made it hard to know what the team will do from night to night. During a week in which many bracketologists had put the Cougars back in the field of 68 for the NCAA tournament, the loss against Portland is especially damaging. Had BYU made even just one more free throw, the outcome of the game could have been much more positive for the Cougars.