HOUSTON (AP) – The South Regional of the NCAA Tournament in Houston is the only one being played in a football stadium.
Is it the reason for such poor shooting?
The games are being played in NRG Stadium, which is home to the Houston Texans, and the setup, with no walls or bleachers directly behind either basket, challenges players’ depth perception. There are black curtains behind each goal, but they are quite far away from the baskets.
”It’s tough being out there on a court where there’s so much room behind the basket,” said Utah’s Brekkott Chapman, whose team shot just 35 percent in a loss to Duke on Friday night. ”But it’s something that you got to adjust to quickly if you want to succeed in this.”
The other regionals are being played at the Staples Center, home to the Lakers and Clippers, Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavaliers play and the Carrier Dome, home to Syracuse basketball and football games. Even though some football games are played at the Carrier Dome, the setup for the tournament is that of a traditional basketball arena.
”It’s an interesting environment,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. ”It’s not a basketball arena. It’s the only regional that’s played in a venue like this. Everybody else is a normal-sized arena. It’s not (just) our issue. It’s Duke’s issue as well as everybody else. It had a lot more to do with our mindset and turnovers. That probably sealed our fate more than anything.”
While Utah shot the worst of any team in this regional on Friday night, the Utes were far from the only ones who struggled. Duke shot the best at just 44.4 percent, Gonzaga shot 40.3 percent and UCLA 38.8 percent.
Struggles shooting in the venue are nothing new. Entering Friday’s game, teams shot a combined 39.8 percent in nine NCAA Tournament games at NRG.
No one wanted to use the venue as an excuse for bad shooting, but it was hard to deny that it changed the level of shooting in these games.
Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer, who was 4 of 12 in the Bulldogs’ win over UCLA Friday, said it doesn’t do any good to complain about the venue. No. 2 Gonzaga just has to work to do better in Sunday’s regional final against top-seeded Duke.
”We’re going to continue to get shots up in practice (Saturday), and hopefully, they’ll fall in the next game,” Wiltjer said.
While no one seems to be happy about the shooting atmosphere in this regional, there might be a silver lining to it. This year’s Final Four is being played at Lucas Oil Stadium, the place the Indianapolis Colts call home, possibly giving the team that advances from Houston a leg up in dealing with a non-traditional basketball setup.
And the benefit could bleed into next year, too. If any of the teams in this regional end up in the Final Four a year from now, they could have an inside track since the event is in Houston.
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