Foul to win
Feb 21, 2009
I’ve never understood why so many teams get chances for buzzer-beater three-point shots. If you’re the team that’s up by three, why not put the opponent on the free throw line?
Sidney Lowe did that twice against Virginia. Once with eight seconds left – in that case Sylvan Landesberg hit two free throws to cut NC State’s lead to one. Then again with three seconds left – this time Landesberg missed his first shot and the Pack grabbed the rebound, sealing the win.
It’s the smart percentage play. By my count, the fouling strategy forces the opponent to do four things correctly to tie in a three-point game: 1) Hit the first free throw, 2) Miss the second, 3) Grab the rebound and, 4) Make the follow shot.
I’ll take those odds.
It’s a bit more debatable in the eight-second scenario. Virginia had time to foul NC State and then take another possession. But as Lowe said after the game, he preferred for his team to control the game.
Both moves could have backfired, but I like the strategy. And in the end, it worked for Lowe. NC State walked away with a victory.
