Memphis

Memphis will not make it to the Final Four.  Poor free throw shooting will do them in against any the likes of Pitt and Texas.  This is a team full of great athletes and players who will make decent pros.  But their style of play and lack of big game coaching ability will cause their demise again this year as it has in recent years.  I know they win a ton of games throughout the regular season, but C-USA teams are not full of Top 20 caliber teams like the Big 12, ACC, and Big East. 

As for UCLA, I think they have a real shot at winning it all this year.  They do have a coach that can win the big games and he has proven this over the past 2 years.  Unfortunately, they had a freight train out of Gainesville that got in their way.  We'll see what happens this year.  Kevin Love is a good player and I think he has a much better chance at pulling a Carmelo Anthony than Derrick Rose does due to the circumstance of who they play for.

I completely agree that Memphis won't make the Final Four, but don't tell me Pitt is a good free throw shooting team.  Weren't they like 13 for 28 against Georgetown the other day?

Oh let's see.... free throw precentages for this season:

Pittsburgh: 65.8%
Texas: 68.9%

Yup... Statistically dominating. That means, based on shooting the exact same number of free throws in a game, Texas gets 2 more points from the line than Memphis, and Pitt gets 1 more point from the line than Memphis. I can see where a thrashing is indicated based on those numbers.

But wait. Should we talk about the fact that Memphis has made more free throws than their opponents have shot this year? The talking heads never mention THAT stat.

I love how people talk all this crap without ever examining the actual numbers. Lazy analysis, lazy reporting, lazy posting. If you repeat this nonsense often enough it becomes the truth.... until your weak squad is sitting in the locker room with their heads between their knees wondering how they got beat by a team that can't shoot free throws.

But wait. Should we talk about the fact that Memphis has made more free throws than their opponents have shot this year? The talking heads never mention THAT stat.

EXACTLY. Memphis shoots a LOT of free throws. Top 20 in the nation in free throw attempts last time I checked. Therefore, comparing their 60% to Texas' and Pittsburgh's percentages in the way you did (assuming they shoot the same amount) is kind of stupid.

Pitt:  35 games / 736 attempts / 65.8% / 7.2 missed FT per game
Texas:  34 games / 659 attempts / 68.9% / 6.0 missed FT per game
Memphis:  34 games / 811 attempts / 59.6% / 9.6 missed FT per game

How bout dem stats? I'd be willing to bet that Memphis leads the nation in missed free throws per game. I agree with the original poster. Free throws will eventually kill them.

Last time I checked, free throws were a part of the game.....not the game.  It won't catch up to them if they are ahead by ten points.  Who in their bracket will be able to run with them enough to stay within 10 points?  Maybe Texas.

hack-a-Memphis

That's been my theory all season on how to beat them. Get 5 fouls out of every player on your bench. Make them shoot it from the line 60 times.

Sad you can't even interpret your own stats. Based on the numbers that YOU just posted:

Pitt made 484 points off free throws this year = 13.8 per game.

Texas made 454 points off free throws this year = 13.4 per game.

Memphis made 483 points off free throws this year = 14.2 per game.

It isn't how many you MISS, it's how many you MAKE. Memphis wins this argument, case closed.