It's easy to pile on bad teams, so I'll try to avoid that. They say it's hard to beat a team three times in one season, but I've never seen any research on that. Is it really hard to beat a team three times in one season? What if one of the teams isn't very good? No one wins them all, so off hand saying it's hard to beat a team three times in one season seems to make sense. People say, "What are the odds of Tech beating them again?", when they really want to ask, what is the probability. Sadly, I didn't save any of my 'odds-vs-probability' diatribes from years gone past. A little ad-hoc research via internet seems to show that beating a team three times in one season is more common than not. In the NFL, as of 2014, teams with a chance to beat another team 3 times in one season were 13-7 in such games - and those were all playoff games. What about in college basketball? Per Mark Selig at the JMU Rivals site, as of 2013: "According to STATS LLC., there have been 981 similar matchups across Division I college basketball over the past 10 seasons. The teams entering the third game 2-0 are a combined 710-271 (.724 winning percentage) in the third meeting."
Gooooooooo Raiders!
As for TCU, not piling on here but they share a couple of common traits with teams that are not very good. First, they don't shoot it very well from the floor. About 41% as a team - that's not going to get it done very often. People like to throw out a lot of statistics about basketball, but it's far more often a really simple game: The team that shoots it better tends to win a whole lot more often than they lose. It's not the be all, end all statistic - but it's close!
Second for TCU, they don't seem to value the ball. On the obvious side, only Michael Williams has more assists than turnvers - but unfortunately, there are other guys on the team who try to pass the ball. Also, Williams has a bad hand and may or may not be effective (or even play) against Tech. Less obvious maybe, TCU takes a lot of bad shots - and some of these are about as effective as a turnover. Look at Malique Trent. 118 of his 281 shots are from the arc - where he is hitting a woeful 25%.
Third, they have had some significant injuries throughout the season.
To the game: 6'0 sophomore guard Chauncey Collins and 6'6 junior guard Brandon Parrish make this TCU team go. Both are good outside shooters, average defenders, and average passers. Parrish is surprisingly poor at the free throw line, but his offensive game is not predicated on contact. Collins is their best free throw shooter and he gets to the line with regularity, leading the team in percentage and opportunities. Both of these guys can be turned over - for Parrish, body up and force him to drive with the ball. For Collins, can't let him have a lane to the basket nor shoot an open jumper, so be ready to move your feet.
Guard Malique Trent gets his hands on a lot of balls, so Raiders need to be sharp with their decisions.
TCU has beaten Texas and Okie Lite, so it's not like they can't win. Hopefully the Raiders come out ready to play, and if all goes well take care of business tonight.
Gooooooooo Raiders!
As for TCU, not piling on here but they share a couple of common traits with teams that are not very good. First, they don't shoot it very well from the floor. About 41% as a team - that's not going to get it done very often. People like to throw out a lot of statistics about basketball, but it's far more often a really simple game: The team that shoots it better tends to win a whole lot more often than they lose. It's not the be all, end all statistic - but it's close!
Second for TCU, they don't seem to value the ball. On the obvious side, only Michael Williams has more assists than turnvers - but unfortunately, there are other guys on the team who try to pass the ball. Also, Williams has a bad hand and may or may not be effective (or even play) against Tech. Less obvious maybe, TCU takes a lot of bad shots - and some of these are about as effective as a turnover. Look at Malique Trent. 118 of his 281 shots are from the arc - where he is hitting a woeful 25%.
Third, they have had some significant injuries throughout the season.
To the game: 6'0 sophomore guard Chauncey Collins and 6'6 junior guard Brandon Parrish make this TCU team go. Both are good outside shooters, average defenders, and average passers. Parrish is surprisingly poor at the free throw line, but his offensive game is not predicated on contact. Collins is their best free throw shooter and he gets to the line with regularity, leading the team in percentage and opportunities. Both of these guys can be turned over - for Parrish, body up and force him to drive with the ball. For Collins, can't let him have a lane to the basket nor shoot an open jumper, so be ready to move your feet.
Guard Malique Trent gets his hands on a lot of balls, so Raiders need to be sharp with their decisions.
TCU has beaten Texas and Okie Lite, so it's not like they can't win. Hopefully the Raiders come out ready to play, and if all goes well take care of business tonight.
