They are in the books. Both men’s and women’s championships are settled, with UConn and Texas A & M the respective champions. The quantity of complaints regarding the “ugliness” of the men’s game was probably matched by praise of the competitiveness and higher quality of the final game product by the women. Here, we take a look at the pace and efficiency of both contests:
On Monday UConn defeated Butler 53-41.
Possessions: 57 each
Offensive Efficiency: UCONN 93, Butler 72
A defensive battle for certain but the most telling statistic putting this one in the category of ugly was the inability of the teams to make shots. While Butler struggled to epic proportions, UConn was better but did not exactly burn the nets with their field goal percentage. Butler’s eFG percentage was an astoundingly low 26 percent. The Bulldogs did hit four treys, which give you a little extra credit in factoring the percentage, but took 33 tries in the process. UConn, as noted, was not much better at 37 percent.
The women’s final won by Texas A & M over Notre Dame was a contrast. The Aggies won their first national championship in women’s basketball with a thrilling 76-70 decision. The pace and efficiency:
Possessions: Texas A & M 73, Notre Dame 71
Offensive Efficiency: Texas A & M 104, Notre Dame 99
The pace was decidedly quicker than the men’s and not simply because the women’s shot clock is five seconds less than their male counterparts. The game had a brisk tempo and players made shots.
Texas A & M checked in with a 57 percent eFG mark while the Irish were a bit below at 48 percent, still significantly better than what we saw on Monday.
For another contrast, we look at turnover rates. Both teams were above average (better than 20 percent) on Monday, with Butler’s TO rate, an outstanding 10 percent, while UConn a very respectful 19 percent. Tuesday saw both women’s teams over the 20 percent threshold. Notre Dame was at 23 percent while Texas A & M saw one quarter, 25 percent, of their possessions down the drain to miscues. In defense of the women, the turnovers were not due to sloppy basketball. For the most part they were generated by good defense as both teams, even in half court sets, exerted better than average pressure. Texas A & M had 18 turnovers while Notre Dame had 10 steals. On the other side, the Irish had 16 turonovers with A & M recording 8 steals of their own.
A final note: Granted we accept Tuesday night’s game the better of the two. Fine, but that does not mean Butler-UConn did not give us intensity and drama. Not every contest will be an artistic gem. Maybe it is the officiating on my perspective. Having officiated some “classics”, like an 11-6 high school girls game this past January, I have seen and been on the floor for some ugly games. UConn and Butler did not by any imagination give us a game especially pleasing to the “basketball eye”. That’s fine. Both teams competed and got after it from tip to buzzer. That in itself is fine. And all you can ask for.
