Category: Stat Geek Idol

4 NCAA Tournament Infographics To Prep You For The Final Four | Stat Geek Idol

March 29, 2012 - by Gregory Matthews

If you like infographics and cool visualizations, then wow, this is the post for you. Gregory Matthews gives us a tournament recap, a season recap, and a Final Four preview, all in visual form. He measures exactly how much Madness we got this March, tracks the Final Four teams through the whole season, and shows that Thomas Robinson is awfully similar to ... Tyler Hansbrough?

Hurry Up Offense: How Pushing The Pace Affects Shooting And Rebounding Rates | Stat Geek Idol

March 29, 2012 - by Jeff Haley

Game pace varies wildly in college basketball. North Carolina works to push the tempo, while Wisconsin plays at a snail's pace. Using play-by-play data from over 4000 games, Jeff Haley analyzes the effect of tempo on offense. He finds a lot of cool facts, but our favorite is that college basketball teams take too many quick threes after their opponent scores. Take it to the rim, boys!

Announcing The Stat Geek Idol Final Four!

March 23, 2012 - by Stat Geek Idol

We started with 64 Stat Geek idol contestants, and two rounds of articles have narrowed the field to four. Crowds will mob them in the streets, their towns' mayors will hand them keys to the city, and middle school geeks everywhere will look up to them. But most importantly, one of these four amateur basketball bloggers will be named the winner of Stat Geek idol next week.

Putting The ‘College’ Back In College Basketball: Can Academics Inform The Bracket? | Stat Geek Idol

March 23, 2012 - by Travis Gerke

When completing your bracket, what were the factors you considered? You thought about things like seed, points per game, and strength of schedule, right? Did academics even cross your mind? In the throes of March Madness, it is easy to forget that these teams represent institutions of higher learning. Might team success off the court help drive momentum on (and help us generate an improved bracket)?

Coaches Love Blocks: How Statistics Determine Player Minutes | Stat Geek Idol

March 23, 2012 - by Nathan Walker

In almost every study that tries to predict NBA player performance, one glaring omission recurs: fouls appear insignificant. But even the most casual fan realizes that foul trouble can be a death blow to a team. Fouls are important. The key is to realize that you can't use fouls to predict performance - but you can use them to predict playing time, which is also hugely important.

Can the Kentucky Wildcats Be Beaten By The Fast Break? | Stat Geek Idol

March 23, 2012 - by Jeff Haley

Kentucky's impressive defense is a huge part of what makes them the favorites to win the NCAA tournament. But they have a weakness: in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, their defense is no better than any old average team. Does this mean that pushing the pace is the key to knocking off the Wildcats?

What Are Seed Gifts And Why Is Kansas Smiling? | Stat Geek Idol

March 23, 2012 - by Martin Manley

Kansas seems to get upset in the NCAA tournament by a double digit seed nearly every single year. Why is that? Well, part of the reason is that they end up facing more double digit seeds than just about anyone. The Seed Gods have been generous with many Seed Gifts over the years.

Turnovers: Do You Want Them Dead or Live? | Stat Geek Idol

March 22, 2012 - by Jay Cipoletti

What is difference in scoring impact between live ball and dead ball turnovers? Is it worth taking more risks on defense to create more steals, and reducing risks on offense to reduce live ball giveaways? As it turns out the answers are 1) Enormous, and 2) yes and yes.

There’s Nothing Worse Than A Chalky Aftertaste: Big Favorites Relax After Halftime | Stat Geek Idol

March 22, 2012 - by Bill Bihn

Teams that are up big at halftime tend to let their foot off the case in the second half, right? In that case, why does the ratio of first half betting spreads to full game betting spreads remains fairly constant, even in games expected to be blowouts?

Breaking Down Match Ups: Sweet Sixteen Game Simulations | Stat Geek idol

March 22, 2012 - by Tyler Williams

Many people try to predict the NCAA tournament using team power ratings. But can you increase the accuracy of a tournament projection by using team stats? Here is a method to simulate NCAA tournament games based on the few team statistics that really matter: shooting percentages, shot selection, turnovers per play, and offensive rebound percentage.
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