Still insisting on the tough D

Remember when Rod Barnes was leading Ole Miss to the Sweet 16? (Granted that was a long time ago.) He made his mark with tough, physical defense. He went on to four years at Georgia State, and then to Cal State Bakersfield. Here is what Jordan Sperber said about the Roadrunners on Greg Mitchell's column on Mid Major Madness:

“When playing Bakersfield, you’re always hoping for a tight whistle from the referee crew that night. They play extremely physical and totally take you out of your comfort zone. That 2016-17 team I mentioned that got to MSG in the NIT was as ‘annoying’ as any defense I got to scout against - and I say that with respect!

Coach Barnes’ teams always rank towards the bottom in the country at fouling. This year they are actually 352 out of 353 in defensive free throw rate. Obviously in a vacuum fouling is a bad thing - an easy way for an offensive to get efficient points. But it also creates plenty of turnovers and just prevents you from running your normal stuff on offense. The thing that made that 2016-17 different was their ability to defend the paint even when the guards got up and extended. Opponents shot just 41 percent from two that year which was third in the country behind Gonzaga and UCF (Tacko Fall). They haven’t quite been able to replicate that since losing the Basile/Pride/Airington/Smith senior class, but regardless are probably not a defense you’d prefer to play against.”