Take My Power Ratings, Please
01.05.06
When I developed the efficiency page, the idea was that it would replace the power ratings. Last season, I didn’t really notice much difference in the accuracy of the efficiency versus the power ratings, but I wasn’t using the adjusted pythagorean scheme on the efficiency data, either.
If you’ve been checking both pages over the past few weeks, you’ve probably noticed that the rankings on the efficiency page have made a lot more sense. With that in mind, I’d thought I’d jot down some unusual conference favorites that adjusted pythagorean had on Wednesday. Maybe it will provide a good laugh in March, or maybe it will give me the impetus to finally ditch the power ratings.
A-10: Xavier (even before last night’s win at St. Joe’s).
Big Ten: Illinois, with Indiana a close second.
Big XII: Texas by a lot, but Colorado is a comfortable second.
Big East: Villanova, with Pitt second.
Big South: Winthrop is so far ahead of its competition, they should go undefeated.
CAA: George Mason.
Horizon: Butler.
MAC: Miami (East), Toledo (West).
MVC: Missouri State.
Mo. West: Air Force, with BYU a suprising second.
Pac-10: Arizona, with Washington State 3rd?
SEC: Florida (East), LSU (West).
WAC: Utah State.
Line o’ the Night
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Eric Hicks 34 9-17 0-0 2-3 12-15 0 3 1 0 1 20
Result: Win. Cincinnati 82, DePaul 60.
Big East Shocker
01.04.06
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Steve Novak 37 12-20 6-13 11-11 5-16 2 1 2 4 0 41
Result: Win. Marquette 94, Connecticut 79.
In early voting for Most Valuable Marcus Williams, Arizona’s freshman forward has the early lead over UConn’s junior point guard.
Basketball Lab
01.03.06
I love the massive laboratory that college hoops provides. A couple of experiments to follow through the conference season are Iowa and Washington State. Both have a tremendous defense to go with an uninspiring offense.
Based on the embarrassingly small data set of two seasons, both teams are overachieving defensively. No team in ‘04 or ‘05 was able to maintain an adjusted defensive efficiency in the 70s which is the territory where the Cougars (79.0) and Hawkeyes (76.5) currently reside.
Nonetheless, neither squad is a fluke. Washington State has the legacy of Dick Bennett behind them and is the defending defensive efficiency champ. Iowa has Greg Brunner and Erek Hansen effectively turning the paint into a “no scoring zone”. Both teams should finish in the top five defensively.
There’s room in both the Pac 10 and Big 10 for Washington State and Iowa to snag enough wins to get an at-large bid. Whether it’s possible to do that solely on the strength of smashmouth defense, that’s what they’ll be trying to prove.
Friday
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Chris Wehye 40 6-16 2-7 2-2 6-16 4 3 4 5 0 16
Result: Loss. Connecticut 111, Quinnipiac 75.
Saturday
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
JP Batista 34 12-13 0-0 8-10 7-15 2 1 1 3 1 32
Result: Win. Gonzaga 102, Saint Joseph's 94.
Sunday
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Corey Belser 35 10-13 3-3 0-0 0-6 1 3 2 1 0 23
Result: Win. San Diego 97, Eastern Washington 78.
Monday
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Yemi Nicholson 38 10-18 0-0 2-4 4-15 0 0 0 3 4 22
Result: Win. Denver 69, Wyoming 64.