I swear that this post isn’t meant as ammunition for NBA purists who belittle the amateur game this time of year. I enjoy some collegiate sport as much as the next W.A.S.P. guy, and this is presented simply as perspective as to how rarely awful the Butler Bulldogs’ shooting was in Monday’s NCAA Div. 1 Championship Game loss to UConn.
Butler Shooting Display In Championship Game Put Into Cringeworthy NBA Perspective
Butler shot 18.8 percent from the field. The lowest any NBA team has ever shot from the field in any game is 22.9 percent -- the Milwaukee Hawks went 22-96 against the Buffalo Braves in 1954. The NBA Finals that season featured the lowest shooting percentage for any team in the championship series, as the Syracuse Nationals shot 27.5 percent from the field in Game 5 against the Ft. Wayne Pistons.
Now, this is the 1950s. What about this season? What's the worst shooting performance of this year in the NBA? That'd be the Hawks' 29.1 percent night against the Hornets on Jan. 27.
So basically, the NBA has never seen a shooting performance that bad, especially in a title game, and these days, the NBA never gets close. That speaks to the incredible value of height at the college level as compared to the almost universally tall NBA -- UConn’s length killed Butler inside -- as well as the relative parity at the pro level compared to college sports.
That said, college ball fans who call the NBA unwatchable ought to consider that this would never, ever happen in the pro game. Open your hearts and minds!
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