@approxinfinity The Turnover bug.
Headed into the last 5 games of the conference season, our guys seemed to have shed the turnover bug. Since the Baylor game one month ago, they haven’t turned the ball over more than 11-12 times. According to Kenpom, the DI average for TO’s per 100 possessions is 18.5. We are now at 19.3. Earlier this season we were at least 2 points higher than the DI ave. So we are trending down, which is a good sign going into March and the madness that follows. Wiggins seems to be handling the ball better, which is good. So is Mr Selden. We need those two to be tight with the ball and not give it away in the tournaments. Embiid is also shown improvement in the TO area. He is passing better out of double teams and he can put the ball on the deck better to dribble out of them or beat his man to the rim with a slick move. He looked pretty well healed up that last game. Im certain he is still getting treated for his injuries. Whatever he did to tweak his back, that’s not something that will just go away in a day or two. But, he looked good out there. Him and Wiggins were our best players at TT. For a good run in March, we need them to be consistently strong like that.
The big question remains though, will this team be able to keep a team like Florida or Syracuse or SDSU on the ropes long enough with their powerful offense to beat them in the ncaa’s? Defense. This teams defensive rating per Kenpom is higher than any Bill Self coached team. Even though they kept TT from scoring more than 63 points, it was a 53 possession game! Something like 1.17 PPP. We out scored them, we didn’t beat them defensively. That is worrisome headed into March. I like our guys’ chances to make a Final Four run but they will have to lock teams down AND out score them. Not one or the other.
