3 keys for Stanford vs South Carolina in 2021 Women’s Final Four

Free Throw Line Important for South Carolina

The charity stripe has been a particularly large aspect of the Gamecocks nightly approach on the court. Throughout the season, they ranked 3rd in the nation for attempts in this area with 627 or 20.9 per game. Despite only converting 68.3% of their attempts, the sheer frequency of trips to the line boosts the overall production of South Carolina’s offense.

This trend has continued in the NCAA Tournament with USC averaging 15.5 attempts per game through the first four rounds. This team has remained aggressive and is putting pressure on their opponents to play controlled defense without fouling. However, the foul line has not only been advantageous for the Gamecocks from the perspective of increasing their offensive production.

During the NCAA Tournament, South Carolina’s defense has limited their opponents to 22 (5.5 per game) attempts at the free throw line. Even more impressive is that those figures include attempts rewarded as the result of shooting fouls. This is pretty unfathomable when giving thought to how frequently shooting fouls happen throughout the course of a typical game, but this group has found ways to get the job done in efficient ways.

With regards to their upcoming opponent Stanford, the Cardinal are not a very aggressive team when considering extra opportunities at the foul line. They love to take their shots from a different area of the court where drawing fouls are less likely to occur. It’s probable that South Carolina will continue their streak of holding opponents to single-digit free throw chances again in this game.