Statistics are for sports writers, fans or fools....or why UConn went 31-0...

[DavidinNaples]

To most people, the only statistic that matters in sports is who won the game. Give them the final score and they are happy. Sports writers, fanatics and fools, of which I'm the latter two, want more detail. For those three groups of people, here are some final regular season statistics for your enjoyment.

1. UConn went 31-0 primarily because opponents couldn't score as many points as they normally did. Four examples: Louisville averaged 80.1 pts/game in season, but scored only 64 & 48 against UConn. Stanford averaged 78.2 per game, got only 57 vs UConn. Baylor, 85.1 per game but only 55 vs UConn. Same for Maryland, 83.6 per game vs 55 in the UConn loss.

2. UConn scored 1,390 points in the 1st half of games this season. Opponents only scored 1,447 total. In other words, UConn scored just about the same number of points in 1/2 the time. Average halftime lead was 22.1 points. Game over.

3. The 2nd reason UConn went 31-0 was balanced scoring. All five "normal" starters averaged double figures in points. More importantly, each had turns leading the team in scoring in different games. Stewie had high point games of 37, 29, 29, 28 and 26 points. Hartley had games of 30, 29, 26, 25 and 21 points. Dolson scored 26, 25 and 24 points for her high games. KML, although limited by injuries, scored 21 three times. Jefferson had a high point game of 18. Most teams can't cover 5 scorers.

4. UConn created 545 turnovers and gave up only 566 opponent baskets. When the other team gets the ball, there is almost a 50%-50% chance they will turn it over before they get a basket. UConn scored 986 baskets w/ only 361 turnovers.

5. UConn assists on 68.7% of their baskets. The four players with the highest point totals will all have over 100 assists. MoJeff and Hartley have 156 and 130 assists. Dolson, a center, already has 105, while Stewie has 97. When the players who score the most, also assists the most, you win.

6. In addition to the 545 turnovers, opponents had 261 shots blocked. That many blocked shots makes opponents change how they are shooting. They shoot quicker, from further out and without getting completely set. As a result, opponents shot 30% from the field. UConn shot 51%, w/ only 65 blocked shots.

7. Free throws are called "free" for a reason. You can take your time and carefully shoot w/out any defense. UConn makes 75.4% of their free throws, opponents only 65.5%. Combined w/ the fact that UConn took 504 attempts vs only 278 for opponents, UConn got an extra 198 points from the charity stripe.Thanks.

8. UConn's four guards (Bria, MoJeff, Saniya & Banks) played 2,933 combined minutes and had only 161 turnovers. That averages one every 18.2 minutes. On the other hand, these four scored 1,118 points, had 388 assists and 323 rebounds. Winning starts w/ good guard play.

9. Stewie played 921 minutes in the 31 victories. She scored 605 points on 50% shooting from the field and 75% from the free throw line. She scored a point, got a rebound, blocked a shot, had an assists or stole the ball every 51 seconds she was on the court.

10. UConn led in points or was tied 96% of the time in their 31 victories. They did not trail in the 2nd half of any game. In fact, UConn did not trail in the last 8 minutes of the 1st half of any game. Average margin of victory was 36.7 points.

Go Huskies..!!

 

[Buster]

David, your posts are so much fun to read! They're full of great facts put together in an entertaining way....maybe you should be a sports writer! Thanks for all the effort you expend analyzing and documenting UCONN's 9th championship run!

 

[rvwsleep]

I especially liked # 4. Almost 50-50. Incredible.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Great stuff, but I think you're a little off on the FT situation. Only 63 of the nation's 343 teams shoot less than 65.5% on the freebies, so it is unquestionable that the Huskies are playing some kind of really effective defense on the line. I'm guessing they use a box-lunch-and-yum to distract the shooter, with MoJeff maybe giving a big lip smack just before the release of the ball.

And I'm not sure why you always ignore deadball rebounds. UConn has a 59-49 edge there, which is probably the key to the perfect season.

And yeah, it is interesting how all of the teams with big blocks per game numbers are also among the leaders in FG% defense. Must be a connection.

 

[alexrgct]

Interesting analysis. Bottom line, is UConn winning, and am I enjoying it? Yes, and yes. Do I need to measure anything? Nope, but no harm in giving it a whirl.

I'm interested in the deficit between scoring average and scoring output against UConn. Has this been measured more generally across other teams and how that deficit compares?

Obviously, the average halftime lead was skewed by some really awful competition. Bottom line, I was thrilled by a nine-point lead at the half against Baylor and 12 this past Monday against Louisville.

David, with all due respect for your efforts, I don't much care for Stewie's efficiency rating. I wonder how the PER is actually calculated and how Stewie's would rate in comparison with other WCBB players.

 

[MilfordHusky]

David, I think you are more sportswriter than fool, though hanging around with us may be proof of the latter.

I'm wondering if our FT defense is the result of getting the other team fatigued.

Thanks for the interesting stats and presentation.

 

[DavidinNaples]

David, I think you are more sportswriter than fool, though hanging around with us may be proof of the latter.

I'm wondering if our FT defense is the result of getting the other team fatigued.

Thanks for the interesting stats and presentation.

milford... I think you are right about fatigue and free throws. Teams we play run out of gas, get sloppy and become careless. Free throws are more about form and concentration than anything else. Hard to focus when you are tired & getting your rear whipped. I would add in the fact that UConn opponents took only 9 free throws a game on average. Divide by 3-4 shooters and nobody is getting many tries. Hard to get into any kind of rhythm.

It also helps that our "bigs" (Stef, Stewie and Kiah) shoot free throws so well. (79%, 75% and 80%) Stanford's front line shot 71%, 61% and 55%. Against UConn, Stanford was 12-18 (66%) and Chiney shot 50%.

 

[Zorro]

I think our FT defense is a result of confusing our opponents' minds. Occasionally one of them makes a really good move and actually gets by our guards and puts up a shot, only to find herself with a face full of basketball. That sort of thing can affect your mind, so that even when one of the zebras blows a call and gives them undeserved FTs, their minds are still unsettled, and it throws off their aim.

 

[UcMiami]

David, I think you are more sportswriter than fool, though hanging around with us may be proof of the latter.

I'm wondering if our FT defense is the result of getting the other team fatigued.

Thanks for the interesting stats and presentation.

On the free throw defense I think the biggest part is the FT shooters warm up before the game and could be shooting like 98%, but then they wait around for EVER for Uconn to foul them and by the time they get to the line they are lucky they still remember their name it has been so long since they scored anything!

And David you did some of the first half stat analysis - but the one I like is 1390 Uconn points vs 703 for the opponents - and if it hadn't been for that darned last road game the numbers! Through 30 games it was 1347 vs 672 more than doubling up of the opponent in the first half. By comparison Uconn sort of sleep walked through the second halves of games only scoring 1195 while allowing 744!