All-time winning percentage

[Phil]

While the National Championship is nice, I know people are dying to hear the details of the logjam for all-time results.

For the two or three of you who may not know what I'm talking about the NCAA keeps track of a lot of stats. One of them is all-time winning percentage, which includes all years since 1903.

In a statistical oddity, at the end of last season, there were three teams whose all-time winning percentage was 81.8% to three decimal places. Those three teams are:

• UConn
• Tennessee
• La Tech

In another statistical oddity the fourth and fifth place teams both had an all-time winning percentage of 75.8%

One of those teams won't surprise you. The other one, I would not have guessed:

• Montana
• Stanford

The first three now have some separation. The 35-4 record for this year edges up the UConn ratio to 82.1%. Tennessee had a good year, but marginally below their all-time average, so slipped a tiny bit to 81.7%
La Tech isn't the team they used to be and their sub .500 record dropped them to 80.9% Still solidly in third place, but headed in the wrong direction.

Montana had a decent year, going 24-8, and that didn't move their ratio, carried out to three decimal places. Stanford in contrast, went 33-3, improving their all-time ratio to 76.3, and taking possession of fourth place all-time.

(Curiously, when I calculated the Tennessee ratio though last year, it was slightly higher than UConn's. However, they had two ties in their history, so I suspect that is why UConn slightly edged out TN last year.)

If you care about total victories, no surprise that Tennessee leads the pack. La tech is second, the only other school with over 1000 victories all time. No one will be surprised that ODU Stephen F. Austin, Texas. Ohio State and Stanford are in the top eight, but I confess I wouldn't have guessed that James Madison would have been in fourth.

 

[DobbsRover2]

But Phil, you didn't mention how many of a certain team's wins came against the Knoxville YWCA or the Tennessee Tech JV. That's the stat we really want to know.

 

[Phil]

Yes, we've hear ad nauseum about the top 25 opponents in recent years, conveniently ignoring the fact that UConn has had one of the toughest schedule over the last decade or so of nay team, and not so much about how some of the early wins. For example, the team went four years without a single win. Then finally got a win, by playing a high school.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Yes, we've hear ad nauseum about the top 25 opponents in recent years, conveniently ignoring the fact that UConn has had one of the toughest schedule over the last decade or so of nay team, and not so much about how some of the early wins. For example, the team went four years without a single win. Then finally got a win, by playing a high school.

Knoxville High '10 (that's 1910) was a legendary team though. They held opponents to the single digits and maybe even shutouts, and no team was ever able to sink a 3 against them.

 

[Phil]

There was a three and even a four point shot in 1914, but I don't know how often four point goals (almost half-court) were made

 

[rbny1]

Personally, I liked the old five-point shot. Climb onto the rim you are defending, stand straight up and heave the ball the length of the court. If it goes in, you get five points. That was the rule, wasn't it? Or am I losing my mind? (No need to answer that.)

 

[DobbsRover2]

Wow, I've never seen any references about an early 3 point rule. I did see that in 1914 there was a shutout in a "Big 10" game, though Wisconsin beat up on some school called Parsons. Hope that wasn't the NYC Parsons School of Design.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Personally, I liked the old five-point shot. Climb onto the rim you are defending, stand straight up and heave the ball the length of the court. If it goes in, you get five points. That was the rule, wasn't it? Or am I losing my mind? (No need to answer that.)

In some games on my driveway court the last shot counted as a million, but only if your opponent had just sunk some 100K shots.

 

[Icebear]

In some games on my driveway court the last shot counted as a million, but only if your opponent had just sunk some 100K shots.

I remember those games.

 

[meyers7]

In some games on my driveway court the last shot counted as a million, but only if your opponent had just sunk some 100K shots.

Our last shot was usually a variable, what ever was needed to get " next one to score wins" to work mathmatically.

 

[Vowelguy]

I'm kinda surprised that UConn is at the top given how bad the program was for its first 10-15 years. That was a decent hole to climb out of.

 

[Phil]

I'm kinda surprised that UConn is at the top given how bad the program was for its first 10-15 years. That was a decent hole to climb out of.

I agree, I thought that would drive us down a few places.