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Wednesday, December 20, 2000
Going beyond the box scores
By Joe Lunardi
Special to ESPN.com
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Having spent the weekend at Vanderbilt's historic Memorial Gym for the inaugural America's Youth Classic, it finally came to me. Memorial Gym, you'll recall, is the place where the team benches are located along the
baselines -- not the sidelines -- of the playing floor.
The coaches and players have a much different view of the game at Vandy. Their take on the action is from a perspective not seen anywhere else in college basketball.
And so it is with this comparison I welcome you to a weekly indepth look at the numbers that go into those boxscores you read each morning. Just as people such as Bill James and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer have brought an entirely different perspective to baseball analysis, we hope to do the same here for America's second-best indoor sport.
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Stat of the Week
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We'll talk about my favorite stats in future columns. For now, settle for this
measurement of how well teams move, or don't move, the basketball. And don't ask
about Wofford's assist total in the loss at Georgia Tech. Obviously the game
statistician was on-loan from the Florida Election Commission.
Highest Assist/FG Ratio
1.071, 15:14; Wofford
vs. Georgia Tech, Nov. 17)
.938, 15:16; Ark.-Little Rock
at Northwestern
.897, 26:29; Kansas
vs. St. John's
.895, 17:19; Princeton
at Duke
882, 15:17; Air Force
vs. Houston
Lowest Assist/FG Ratio
.250, 4:16; Howard
at Cal-Irvine
.250, 5:20; N.M. State
vs. St. Bonaventure
.267, 8:30; Marist
vs. Dartmouth
.278, 5:18; Houston
vs. Air Force
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What follows is just a sample of what we hope to do throughout the season. We'll try to dispel conventional wisdom, challenge established thinking about the game, and have some fun with numbers you've probably never seen before.
I don't know yet the sabermetric equivalents in college basketball. The seamheads have more than proven that on-base plus slugging is a better measure of winning baseball then batting average and RBI. For college basketball, I'm going to introduce things like "points per shot" and "assist-to-field goal ratio."
In the meantime, we've pored over the first 127 Division I boxscores of the year (through Saturday, Nov. 18) to uncover some early-season pearls of wisdom. Tell me what you think of the numbers and, beginning next week, each column will be followed by a separate "Boxscore Banter" in which your feedback gets a public forum right here (jlunardi@home.com).
Later in the season, we'll do the same with our ever-popular "Bracketology" projections of the NCAA Tournament field. All those, ahem, kind E-mail messages you've sent me over the years have a new home at ESPN.com. And don't ever forget that it was yours truly, not the ubiquitous athletic apparel company, who first coined the expression "Welcome to Bracketville."
But that is weeks away. And we have thousands of boxscores between now and then.
Wagner's power painters
Wish we could have been on Staten Island Friday night for the highest scoring game of the young season. Wagner and Brown staged a high-wire act that landed in a bunch of statistical categories.
Highest winning scores
Wagner 122, Brown 91 (Nov. 17)
Wake Forest 108, Mount St. Mary's 61 (Nov. 16)
USC 107, Bradley 92 (Nov. 18)
Notre Dame 104, Sacred Heart 58 (Nov. 18)
Fresno State 104, St. Mary's 66 (Nov. 17)
Seton Hall 104, Rider 76 (Nov. 17)
St. Joseph's 103, Western Carolina 53 (Nov. 17)
TCU 102, Northwestern State 69 (Nov. 17)
Southern Illinois 101, Long Beach State (Nov. 17)
Villanova 101, Fairfield 85 (Nov. 14)
Highest losing scores
UCLA 98, Kansas 99 (Nov. 9)
Kentucky 92, UCLA 97, OT (Nov. 10)
Brown 91, Wagner 122 (Nov. 17)
Highest total scores
213, Brown at Wagner (Nov. 17)
199, Bradley at USC (Nov. 18)
197, Kansas vs. UCLA (Nov. 11)
190, Long Beach State vs. Southern Illinois (Nov. 17)
But defense still wins
With the shot clock and an all-too-easy 3-point line, it is almost unthinkable not to break the 50-point barrier in a game. Note that we say "almost." You'll also spot a familiar name (Temple) when it comes to winning these defensive struggles.
Lowest losing scores
Cal State Fullerton 35, Oregon State 68 (Nov. 17)
Columbia 40, Central Connecticut State 62 (Nov. 18)
Northwestern 43, Arkansas-Little Rock 53 (Nov. 18)
Air Force 44, Wake Forest 84 (Nov. 17)
Yale 45, ohio State 65 (Nov. 17)
Elon College 46, Stetson 75 (Nov. 18)
North Carolina A&T 46, Pittsburgh 91 (Nov. 17)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 47, Mississippi 98 (Nov. 18)
Howard 47, Cal-Irvine 71 (Nov. 17)
Dartmouth 49, Arkansas State 67 (Nov. 18)
Wofford 49, Georgia Tech 92 (Nov. 17)
New Mexico 49, Temple 61 (Nov. 15)
Delaware 49, Temple 56 (Nov. 13)
Lowest winning scores
Arkansas-Little Rock 53, Northwestern 43 (Nov. 18)
Temple 56, Delaware 49 (Nov. 13)
Texas 57, California 54 (Nov. 15)
Air Force 59, Houston 53 (Nov. 16)
Lowest total scores
102, Columbia at Central Connecticut State (Nov. 18)
103, Cal State Fullerton at oregon State (Nov. 17)
105, Delaware at Temple (Nov. 13)
110, Yale at Ohio State (Nov. 170)
110, New Mexico at Temple (Nov. 150)
111, California at Texas (Nov. 15)
112, Wisconsin-Green Bay at Idaho (Nov. 17)
112, Air Force vs. Houston (Nov. 16)
117, Southern Mississippi at Arkansas (Nov. 18)
118, Howard at Cal-Irvine (Nov. 17)
Shots don't always add up
Villanova split its two Preseason NIT games, but the Wildcats obviously know what to do with the basketball. Check out some of the Wildcats' shooting numbers. And who says "play the game the right way?" Some teams did the opposite of what
the numbers suggested and still came away with wins. Are you getting this, Tulane?
Highest FG/
winning team |
Lowest FG/
winning team |
Highest FG/
losing team |
.700: Wake Forest
(vs. Mount St. Mary's)
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.305: Central Conn. St.
(vs. Albany)
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.621: Villanova
(at Duke)
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660: Villanova
(vs. Fairfield)
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.328: Temple
(vs. New Mexico)
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.600: Bradley
(at USC)
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.628: Gonzaga
(at E. Washington)
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.333: Cleveland State
(vs. Vermont)
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.583: Buffalo
(vs. Niagara)
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.623: St. Joseph's
(vs. Western Carolina)
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.344: Texas
(vs. California)
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.540: Texas A&M
(at George Washington)
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.620: Mississippi State
(vs. McNeese State)
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.537: Nebraska
(at Oral Roberts)
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And from behind the 3-point arc ...
Highest 3PT FG/
winning team |
Lowest 3PT FG/
winning team |
Highest 3PT FG/
losing team |
.769: Utah State (10-13)
vs. South Florida
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.000: Tulane (0-10)
vs. Nicholls State
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.636 N. Illinois (7-11)
vs. Belmont
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.727: Villanova (8-11)
vs. Fairfield
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.083: Kansas St. (1-12)
vs. Texas-San Antonio
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.615: Buffalo (8-13)
vs. Niagara
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.688: UNC (11-16)
at Appalachian State
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.125: Connecticut (1-8)
vs. Quinnipiac
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.611: Bradley (11-18)
at USC
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.615: Wake Forest (8-13)
vs. Mount St. Mary's
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.154: Georgetown (2-13)
vs. Bethune Cookman
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.542: UCLA (13-24)
vs. Kansas
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.583: Ga. Tech (14-24)
vs. Wofford
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.538: S. Alabama (7-13)
at Indiana
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Check the rims
In these team's gyms, fans on the baseline should have worn a helmet while witnessing these performances. Wonder if it occurred to coaches on the second list to have their guys take the occasional "two-pointer."
| Lowest FG/losing team |
Lowest 3PT/losing team |
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.226: Idaho (vs. Wisconsin-G.B.)
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.042: 1-24; Navy (vs. Rice)
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.255: Wofford (at Georgia Tech)
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.063: 1-16; N.M. State
(vs. St. Bonaventure)
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.258: W. Carolina (vs. St. Joseph's)
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.071; 1-14, Houston (vs. Air Force)
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.266, Navy (vs. Rice)
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.125: 2-16, Miami, Ohio (at Xavier)
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.267: VMI (at Virginia Tech)
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.125: 2-16; Long Island (at Virginia)
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.279: N.C. A&T (at Pittsburgh)
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.130, 3-23; Florida Atlantic (vs. Miami)
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.288: Sacred Heart (at Notre Dame)
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.133, 2-15; Kentucky (vs. St. John's)
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.291: Northwestern
(vs. Ark.-Little Rock)
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.133: 2-15; Brown (at Wagner)
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.292, Texas Southern (vs. Lamar)
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.136: 3-22; Sacred Heart
(at N. Dame)
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.296: Dartmouth (vs. Arkansas State)
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Speaking of field goals, remember the two-point variety? Some teams evidently still convert those at an above-average clip. Others, well, let's just say the immediate gratification of the three-ball is so hard to resist. At least we expect Air Force to be launching from long distance.
Most two-point field goals
36: Richmond (vs. Radford, Nov. 17)
34: Southern Illinois (vs. Tulane, Nov. 17)
34: Wake Forest (vs. Mount St. Mary's, Nov. 16)
33, Villanova (@ Duke, Nov. 17)
Fewest two-point field goals
6: Air Force (vs. Houston)
8: Southern Mississippi (at Arkansas)
8: St. Peter's (vs. Boston University)
9: Idaho (vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay)
9: High Point (at William & Mary)
9: Air Force (at Wake Forest)
They're called 'free' throws for a reason
Is it any wonder why Cal State Fullerton has posted the lowest score (35 points) of the season to-date?
Lowest FT percentages
.333, 2-for-6; Cal State Fullerton (at Oregon State).
.375, 6-for-16; Fordham (vs. Charlotte).
.499, 12-for-30; Texas-San Antonio (at Kansas State)
.400, 12-for-30; Indiana (vs. Pepperdine)
Highest FT percetages
1.000, 5-for-5; Arkansas State (vs. Dartmouth)
.900, 9-for-10; Mount St. Mary's (at Wake Forest)
.895, 17-for-19; Wake Forest (vs. Air Force)
.875, 21-for-24; Austin Peak (vs. Colorado)
.875, 14-for-16; Charlotte (at North Carolina State)
Speaking of fouls
With so much being made about officials calling tighter games in order to produce less physical play, we're going to track high foul/low foul totals throughout the season. When the data sample is greater, we'll compare these numbers with past years to see if, in fact, there are too many/too few fouls and free throws.
Most fouls
62, Wisconsin-Green Bay at Idaho
56, Eastern Illinois at Butler
56, Bradley at USC
56, VMI at Virginia Tech
56, Long Beach State vs. Southern Illinois
54, Nevada at San Francisco
54, Texas A&M at George Washington
12 other games with 50-plus fouls.
Fewest fouls
26, New Mexico at Temple
28, Hofstra at Florida International
28, Princeton at Duke
29, Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Mississippi
29, Radford at Richmond
Most FTs
80, VMI at Virginia Tech
77, Quinnipiac at Connecticut
74, Bradley at USC
71, Eastern Illinois at Butler
71, Sacred Hearta at Notre Dame
Fewest FTs
10, Miami-oH at Xavier
18, Dartmouth at Marist
20, Princeton at Duke
22, Dartmouth vs. Arkansas State
23, South Florida vs. Utah State
23, Cal State Fullerton at Oregon State
23, Belmont at Florida International
23, Boston University at St. Peter's
Nail-biters vs. Blowouts
Doesn't it seem strange that, is this alleged age of parity, there have been
fewer one-point games (3) than 40-point blowouts (9) so far? It's even more strange that two of three one-point decisions came in the same Madison Square Garden doubleheader, on the opening night of the season. We'll track this
throughout the year, especially when conference play begins, to see if it
holds up.
And think good thoughts for first-year Western Carolina coach Steve Shurina.
The Catamounts lost his debut by 50 points and were trailing 13-0 before
getting a single field goal attempt against St. Joseph's.
Well, wasn't this fun? And to think, this is only half the material collected through the first 100-plus games of the season. Check back for more each Monday ... and don't forget to write!
Joe Lunardi is an in-season regular contributor to ESPN.com. He is also contributor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Write to Joe at jlunardi@home.com.
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