It's not just this game too.
People brought up the Vandy game. It was at our place. We won by 19. Yet they took 25 and we only took 6.
It isn't until you realize that in conference play Vandy is number 1 in the SEC in getting to the line. Our defense has ranked 11th in conference play.
I don't think there's any doubt that getting to the line and not fouling are skills for the offense and defense and some teams are just better at it. Much like some teams shoot well, some rebounding well etc etc.
Actually, it's interesting to look at team pages on sites like Kenpom because you notice patterns. So coaching philosophy plays a huge role in it.
Take a team like Michigan. Overall, under Beilen, not a great defense. But in terms of not fouling these are their rankings year to year under him: 16th, 9th, 2nd, 1st, 43rd, 42nd, 7th, 33rd and 21st.
Or Ohio St under Matta: 54th, 15th, 9th, 43rd, 29th, 1st, 8th, 4th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 32nd.
This is a real skill. And it's something we are missing here this season.