For the most part, I’ve gotten out of the game of sparring with those critical of analytics. I’ve tried to channel my inner Whelliston with a personal mission statement along the lines of “If you don’t like what I do, just go away.” There are enough coaches and media folks using this stuff that the […]

Most people understand that scoring margin matters, at least when it comes to evaluating the strength of a team. So the conclusion from the data contained herein is not going to be a huge surprise to most readers. But the data itself is still interesting and I think it’s one of the simpler approaches to […]

The 3 most appealing games (according to FanMatchTM): 1) Michigan State 59, Ohio State 56 [60] (Saturday) John Donne penned the famous poem “No Man is an Island” in the 17th century. It would have never been written had he anticipated the Ohio State offense in 2013. Deshaun Thomas is clearly an island, and even […]

The 3 most appealing games (according to FanMatchTM): 1) Michigan 83, Minnesota 75 [66] (Thursday) Minnesota satisfied its appetite on the offensive glass, grabbing 14 boards in 30 chances (though many appeared to be in garbage time). But they didn’t have an answer for Tim Hardaway, Jr. and only had a few answers for Trey […]

Wisconsin’s Ryan Evans is possibly the first person to forget how to shoot free throws. Evans has gone from shooting 73% as a junior to 38% as a senior. I have data going back to 2005 and there are just two cases of a player seeing even a 20% decrease in their free throw shooting […]

Ugh. I never thought I’d be writing two posts in the span of two weeks defending Kevin O’Neill. Let me just make it clear, yet again, that I think O’Neill was a bad hire and I have never understood the infatuation many people have with his skills as a head coach. Nonetheless, he was hired […]

The 3 most appealing games (according to FanMatchTM): 1) Ohio State 56, Michigan 53 [60] (Sunday) During Michigan’s unbeaten streak, they were never really threatened. They trailed at halftime only once and never trailed by more than eight at any point in any game. The Buckeyes owned the first 14 minutes, jumping out to a […]

The 3 most appealing games (according to FanMatchTM): 1) Oregon 70, Arizona 66 [67] (Thursday) Oregon as Pac-12 champs? It’s now a realistic statement. (My simulator says they have a 33% chance now.) The Ducks spotted Arizona the first eleven points, but eventually built a 14-point of their own early in the second half. And […]

New Mexico beat UNLV 65-60 in a 73-possession game on Wednesday night. I was there (representing an entire branch of science). This is what I saw. 1) New Mexico take a lot of free throws ‘Tis better to miss free throws than not take them at all. People often lament missed free throws and the […]

The 3 most appealing games (according to FanMatchTM): 1) Kansas State 73, Oklahoma State 67 [69]. (Saturday) This game is another of a million examples why college basketball is wacky. Poor shooting Kansas State facing a solid defense in Oklahoma State was surely a recipe for some bricks. But the Wildcats made 51% of their […]