Why Xavier didnt foul when 3 up and 10 sec to in regulation ?

Question

Xavier was up by 3, Ohio State had ball with 10 sec in regulation, State ends up scoring a 3 to tie, and win game in OT. Why dont teams in position like Xavier intentionally foul and limit other team to only 2 points max. Seemed logical, Xavier would have won the game in regulation if they did that.

Answer 1

Yes, it would seem that Xavier would have won the game but they obviously believed they could stop Ohio State and stop the 3 pointer and win .
I know you liked to intentionally foul in this situation which can be a problem if the referee decides that you did intentionally foul so he had better be going for the steal in an attempt or Ohio State gets the 2 free throws and the possession of the ball again in which a basket wins it for them.
Yes in this situation I would intentionally foul but I would definitely try my best to do two things ; try to make them pass the ball to the worst of their free throwers and take enough time off the clock that if I am fouled and did not make my free throws the team does not enough time to beat me.

Answer 2

When I was watching the game me and my brother both were yelling at the television to just foul and send them to the line. Why the coach didnt hear us we dont know. It was Xavier just hoping that the would throw up a shot and not hit it. Oden being out Xavier figured they would be able to get the rebound or at worst maybe a tip in for OSU which would have left them up by 1. Hindsight is 20/20 though who knows what was going through the coach of Xaviers mind.

Answer 3

Sorry, but Xavier shouldn't have been put in that position, as the foul on Oden should have been called intentional, which meant Xavier should have kept the ball after the two free throws.

Answer 4

I wondered the same thing. I probably would have fouled if I was in Xavier's position - but maybe that is why I'm not a head coach.

The logic typically used revolves around this - the clock is your friend. If you foul, you give Ohio St. a chance to score while the clock is not running. If you don't foul, you can play solid defense and hopefully force Ohio St. into a bad shot, and the clock will expire.

I'm with you - I would have fouled. I'm betting that Xavier's coach regrets that decision now, too. But at the same time, I'm betting he did what he felt gave his team the highest percentage chance to win the game.

To respond to the person above - didn't Greg Oden foul out previously? So it was a moot point - he could not have gotten the rebound if Ohio St. intentionally missed the foul shot. One more reason in favor of fouling, in my book.

Answer 5

You foul someone the clock stops. make them run the length of the court and try a fast three. 9 out of 10 times the shooter misses. This time they hit. Never stop a clock when you are up by three and when you foul them unless you do it well, they could throw the ball up, and be in the act of shooting. Only intentionally foul someone when you are behind.

Answer 6

In retrospect you are correct, they could have fouled away from the ball right in front of an official...when that 3 went in and it went to OT it was pretty much done that OSU would win...

Answer 7

that would have been a smart choice but OSU also has greg oden to get the board when they intensionaly missed the second free-throw, but i still don't see why other teams don't do that

Answer 8

That would have been the smart move, but then hindsight is always 20/20. It's easier to think about it afterward, but it isn't as easy in the heat of the moment.

Answer 9

you could, but i guess the coach thought all they had to do was contest the shoot and he would have miss,but we wouldn't even have this question if the Xavier player would have hit both of his free throws.