Basketball Statistics Blog

Friday Press Clippings:
About the Basketball Analysis and Basketball Numerology

From Yale Daily News By Robert Kruse
Download source here: ' M. Basketball | Analysis: Basketball numerology '

"... To answer this question, the team’s winning percentage of .400 would on the surface indicate that the Elis are slightly below average, with average being winning half the games played. Such an analysis is hampered, though, by the fact that the strength and quality of the team’s opposition highly influences what that team’s record will be. After all, good teams can have bad records by playing many great teams. ..."

"... According to calculations by Joe Lunardi of ESPN, Yale has played the 291st toughest schedule in the nation, meaning that the men’s basketball team has struggled despite playing a fairly easy schedule. At the same time, Harvard stands at 9-6 but has played the 331st toughest schedule, even considering their game against (and win over) No. 24 Boston College. That suggests the Crimson might be weaker then they appear at first glance. ..."

"... Combining a team’s record and strength of schedule into one measure, the NCAA developed the Rating Percentage Index (RPI) in 1981 to rank all basketball teams for the tournament. ..."

"... “In the NBA when all you are doing is playing basketball, statistics are more important,” Braswell said. “In the college game, people are a lot more up and down each game [since] if you have a lot of midterms one week, you can’t get in the gym a lot and your shooting percentage will go down.” ..."

"... “As far as assists and turnovers, the scorekeeper can affect it a lot,” Edwards said. “There are times that our teams go on the road and assists are barely kept. [Overall], I don’t think people should put too much emphasis on turnovers and assists.”

While the sources for such statistics can be dubious, Eli coaches nevertheless prepare their players with advanced scouting reports laden with statistical analyses for each game. ..."

"... But other players admitted that they do follow some statistics closely as a way to measure the team’s or their own individual progress. Guard Chris Andrews ’09 said he follows his assist-to-turnover ratio given his roles in protecting and distributing the ball as a point guard on the team. As a team, he explained the Elis have different goals. ..."

Read more articles in Yale Daily News.

To read Today's 'Press Clippings' in Spanish, click this week above on the 'Español' tab or afterwards click here: ' Huevos y Castañas ~ Un Análisis Estadístico del Baloncesto ' por Miguel Ángel Paniagua.

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