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Metagaming: Knowing the opponent and how to counter them. If you can counter what you expect your opponent will do, you can beat them even if they are "better."
Look at any statistical website, and you'll see the Shockers are still behind Pitt, Ohio State, and Gonzaga. Statistics would argue that they were "better teams." Our defense isn't statistically better, and our offense doesn't frighten our opponents like some do. But what we have done is counter our opponents strengths, and attacked their weaknesses. THAT is what we have excelled at in the tournament. That is why we have led every game by double digits, and never been more than 8 points behind a team.
Imagine back in the day when the arm bar was first discovered. The guys that had that one move in their sleeves could beat anyone, and they could break arms easily without fear of a counter. Suddenly, everyone was learning how to pull off an arm bar so that they could win fights. When the counter was developed, the people that could counter that move became the kings of fighters until they were countered. These guys weren't necessarily better than their opponents, but they exploited their opponents reliance on their moves so well they dominated.
Back to basketball. We don't do any one thing super well, except rebound and play quality defense. We don't have a crazy good press or the best shooters. We don't have the best athletes or a superstar player. What we have is versatility. Does your team's best player rely on speed to blow by defenders? Meet Demetric Williams with Carl Hall hedging on screens. Do you play solid defense and efficient offense, but have a tendency to send opponents to the line? We'll draw fouls all day. Do you have a bunch of quick guards but no true post presence? We'll give the ball to Carl Hall and let him go at you.
Basically, we've found our opponents weakness in every game. Against Pittsburgh, we were able to get to the line and force them into hard shots. Against Gonzaga, we stretched the defense with 3PT shooting. We threw the ball inside against La Salle, and we Ohio State to beat us with their jump shots. In each case, we found a weakness and executed our gameplan to a victory.
Louisville is a tougher match-up. If you go by stats, they are the better team. They have the better defense, and the better offense. They've played and beaten better teams. But we haven't been beating teams by playing to their strengths. We've been winning because we have found chinks in the armor of every team we've faced. If we can do the same against Louisville, we can beat them.
Look at any statistical website, and you'll see the Shockers are still behind Pitt, Ohio State, and Gonzaga. Statistics would argue that they were "better teams." Our defense isn't statistically better, and our offense doesn't frighten our opponents like some do. But what we have done is counter our opponents strengths, and attacked their weaknesses. THAT is what we have excelled at in the tournament. That is why we have led every game by double digits, and never been more than 8 points behind a team.
Imagine back in the day when the arm bar was first discovered. The guys that had that one move in their sleeves could beat anyone, and they could break arms easily without fear of a counter. Suddenly, everyone was learning how to pull off an arm bar so that they could win fights. When the counter was developed, the people that could counter that move became the kings of fighters until they were countered. These guys weren't necessarily better than their opponents, but they exploited their opponents reliance on their moves so well they dominated.
Back to basketball. We don't do any one thing super well, except rebound and play quality defense. We don't have a crazy good press or the best shooters. We don't have the best athletes or a superstar player. What we have is versatility. Does your team's best player rely on speed to blow by defenders? Meet Demetric Williams with Carl Hall hedging on screens. Do you play solid defense and efficient offense, but have a tendency to send opponents to the line? We'll draw fouls all day. Do you have a bunch of quick guards but no true post presence? We'll give the ball to Carl Hall and let him go at you.
Basically, we've found our opponents weakness in every game. Against Pittsburgh, we were able to get to the line and force them into hard shots. Against Gonzaga, we stretched the defense with 3PT shooting. We threw the ball inside against La Salle, and we Ohio State to beat us with their jump shots. In each case, we found a weakness and executed our gameplan to a victory.
Louisville is a tougher match-up. If you go by stats, they are the better team. They have the better defense, and the better offense. They've played and beaten better teams. But we haven't been beating teams by playing to their strengths. We've been winning because we have found chinks in the armor of every team we've faced. If we can do the same against Louisville, we can beat them.
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