BracketBusters Scoreboard
02.20.06
A breakdown of conferences that played 5 or more games in the BracketBusters:
RPI
Pvs Now
CAA 6-2 11 10
WAC 6-3 9 9
Big West 5-3 28 24
MVC 5-5 5 6
OVC 5-6 18 20
Horizon 4-5 14 15
MAC 5-7 15 16
MAAC 4-6 10 13
George Mason and Missouri State were the top two BracketBuster teams in efficiency (adjusted Pythagorean) going into the weekend, and both got big road wins. They each control their own destiny for an at-large bid. Avoid bad losses and each is in.
On a non-BracketBusters note, Texas was tops in efficiency and got blitzed by 13-12 Oklahoma State. On Saturday, Kansas travels to Texas in a game that should decide the Big XII regular season. It will be a game that features the #1 and #4 defenses in the nation, and can be considered close to a toss-up at this point.
Friday
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Scott Greenman 50 10-15 4-6 3-4 1-1 4 3 3 2 0 27
Result: Win. Princeton 76, Cornell 68. (2OT)
Saturday
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Adam Morrison 39 14-20 8-13 8-12 0-6 2 2 0 4 0 44
Result: Win. Gonzaga 79, Loyola Marymount 70.
Sunday
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Ivan Radenovic 34 8-10 0-0 7-11 5-8 5 1 0 3 0 23
Result: Win. Arizona 76, Stanford 72.
Mo’ Powe
02.17.06
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Leon Powe 38 10-14 0-0 10-14 6-10 2 2 0 3 0 30
Result: Win. California 75, Arizona 66.
Dan Grunfeld had a better shooting night (9-11 FGs, 11-11 FTs, 31 pts) in Stanford’s win over Arizona State. But this is more like a season-long achievement award for Powe. He has repeatedly had quality lines, but there’s always someone that does a little better. Grunfeld had easily his best game of the season, while Powe is doing something like the above all the time. Powe gets to the free throw line just as often as he did as a freshman (FTRate of 72.4 this season compared to 70.4 as a frosh), but he’s improved his free throw shooting from 61.0% to 69.7%.
Scorekeeper’s Bias
02.16.06
Ken- Love your website. I visit it regularly, even though I’m on the women’s side of college basketball. That said, I saw an amazing box score last night. Florida’s women’s team scored 63 points, won by 15… yet only had 3 assists. I thought that’d make an interesting scavenger hunt for your readers… what is the highest point total a team has ever scored with 3 or fewer assists? I can’t imagine it topping the 63 by the Lady Gators. Regards, Andy Demetra Broadcaster University of South Carolina women’s basketball
This was a seemingly innocuous question, but it turned up an interesting find. The two worst assist outputs of the season occurred in the SWAC, and they both occurred at Jackson State. But it’s not a coincidence.
Counting stats at a basketball game is to some degree subjective. Arguably, the most subjective element is how to record assists. There has always been some notion that certain scorekeepers are less charitable than others about doling out assists. However, I have never seen the bias that exists at Jackson State.
Let’s just say if you are a member of the visiting team playing JSU, you won’t get your assists properly counted. Here is how SWAC teams have fared against the Jaguars in home and away games. Figures for each game are assists/field goals made.
Home Away Alabama A&M 3/25 Alabama St. 5/26 Alcorn St. 12/21 4/22 Southern 17/32 4/28 Prairie View 11/29 2/29 Texas Southern 18/28 8/22 Grambling 2/28 MVSU 14/20 Ark-Pine Bluff 15/19 Total A/FGM .584 .156
It’s obvious that the Jackson State scorer’s table doesn’t have any interest in recording opponents’ assists. They don’t do a very good job with the home team, but at least they try. Jackson State has a .328 A/FGM ratio in conference home games compared to .510 on the road.
To answer Andy’s question, both Prairie View and Grambling cashed in for 77 points with their two assists.
Line o’ the Night
When I dreamt up the Line o’ the Night feature, I expected to have multiple intriguing lines to choose from on most nights. That hasn’t usually been the case, though. But wow, Wednesday night was the most interesting of the season from a statistical standpoint.
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Tyler Hansbrough 32 13-17 0-0 14-19 6-10 1 4 1 1 0 40
Result: Win. North Carolina 82, Georgia Tech 75.
Hansbrough gets the official LotN. This game brings up two thoughts. First, if Hansbrough comes back for his sophomore season, he’s going to rack up some tremendously efficient offensive numbers. He’s already one of the best high usage players in terms of free throw rate. Second, nobody is going to predict that UNC will successfully defend their title, but they are going to be a tougher out in the postseason than people think. It would be an incredible accomplishment for them to reach the Final Four, but that wouldn’t be an unreasonable goal, either.
A couple other lines are worth publication.
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Paul Millsap 31 4-12 0-0 3-6 11-28 3 4 1 4 3 11
Result: Win. Louisiana Tech 74, San Jose St. 63.
FG 3pt FT Reb
Min M-A M-A M-A O-T A F S TO BLK Pts
Shawn James 31 7-18 1-4 2-2 6-14 1 2 0 4 11 17
Result: Win. Northeastern 77, James Madison 55.
But that’s not all. Did you see the night LeBron had? No, not that LeBron. I’m talking about Hofstra’s Jorge Lebron, and his five fouls in one official minute of action against UNC Wilmington. The NCAA lists the record for quickest to foul out at 1:11. King Maims used up his five fouls in a 46 second span, but it’s unclear exactly how long he was on the floor.
All of this makes the 12 turnovers committed by UMass point guard Chris Lowe less than noteworthy.
Finally, on a team note, Utah State busted out a 37-0 run over a 13+ minute span against Idaho. Idaho vandalized their home rims with 24 consecutive bricks during the drought.