Fouling Things Up In The ACC

There are some statistical categories you don’t want to lead.

Three quickly come to mind.

Missed shots, and the variety of percentages they affect, are closely monitored and apt to undermine offensive continuity and confidence, not to mention point production.

Then there are turnovers, which almost without exception involve a change in possession without scoring a point. They tend to be both expensive and debilitating.

Finally, there are personal fouls, a debit that might have no tangible effect on the game’s outcome or may crucially influence player availability and produce easy scoring opportunities for the other team.

A team’s fouling rate tends to reflect style of play, particularly on defense. Programs known for a physical approach (Florida State) or that are notably inexperienced or undisciplined (Wake, NC State, Pitt in 2019) tend to foul more. Those that rely more on finesse and discipline (Notre Dame, UVa in ‘19), have thin rosters (Miami), or depend on zones (Syracuse and, last year, Miami) are less likely to foul.

The savvier coaches, or at least those with enough players to shuffle in and out of the lineup, tend to minimize the number of times individuals are disqualified with too many fouls. This was best achieved in ’19 by Notre Dame and Virginia.

Mike Brey’s Fighting Irish have never suffered more than eight player disqualifications in a season since joining the ACC in 2014. Over the last four years they’ve never had more than four DQs.

Fewest by a team in the past half-decade were the two disqualifications incurred by Syracuse in 2017 and North Carolina in 2018.