2012 Final Four Stats: Player Performance In The NCAA Tournament

Here’s a quick stat pack to get you through the next two days, until the action starts.

First, we’ll go over the top scorers, rebounders, shot blockers, and other ‘bests’ in the tournament from among the Final Four squads.

Then, we’ll give you the tournament stats from every player on all four Final Four teams. You’ll be able to see just how amazingly balanced Kentucky has been, how few minutes Ohio State’s bench has played, how crazy important Elijah Johnson’s outside touch has been for Kansas, and how much Louisville relies on the distribution of Peyton Siva.

Here are the top Final Four players in several key categories, based on only their NCAA tournament performance this year.

Top 2012 NCAA Tournament Scorers

TeamPlayerGMinPts/GPts/40Pts/100%ShotseFG%TS%
Ohio StDeshaun Thomas438.321.822.731.432.1%57.5%59.8%
Ohio StJared Sullinger430.318.023.826.027.3%50.0%59.3%
KentuckyDoron Lamb429.816.822.523.422.7%68.9%70.6%
KansasThomas Robinson431.515.820.023.130.8%38.8%44.5%
LouisvilleChane Behanan432.014.017.521.820.9%65.3%64.2%
LouisvilleRuss Smith420.513.325.920.738.1%44.0%51.5%
KentuckyAnthony Davis433.314.517.420.217.0%54.8%63.4%
KentuckyMarquis Teague433.314.517.420.221.4%51.3%58.1%
KansasElijah Johnson433.313.516.219.820.6%62.2%60.9%
KentuckyTerrence Jones432.513.516.618.821.4%55.3%56.3%

Pts/40 is points per 40 minutes of playing time. Pts/100 is points per 100 team possessions (This factors in bench time, so players that sit a lot won’t do well. The idea here is to account for tempo). %Shots is an estimate of the fraction of his teams shots a player takes while he is in the game. eFG% is effective field goal percentage, which is like regular field goal percentage, but gives a bonus for three pointers. TS% is true shooting percentage, which is like eFG%, but also takes into account trips to the free throw line.

  • DeShaun Thomas has been the scoring king among the Final Four players, thanks both to en efficient performance and a boatload of playing time.
  • Russ Smith is taking an absolutely huge fraction of his team’s shots. For comparison, his %Shots is exactly the same as Jimmer Fredette’s was last season.
  • Thomas Robinson has been the least efficient of the volume scorers to this point. It’s difficult to imagine Kansas winning the title if he continues his inefficient play.
  • At the other end of the spectrum, Doron Lamb has hit 9 of 15 three pointers to drive his True Shooting Percentage over 70%.

Top 2012 NCAA Tournament Rebounders

TeamPlayerGMinOR%DR%Reb/GReb/40Oreb/GDreb/G
KansasThomas Robinson431.513.7%27.8%12.515.93.88.8
Ohio StAmir Williams26.511.0%30.8%2.012.30.51.5
KansasKevin Young416.520.9%13.6%5.312.73.02.3
KentuckyAnthony Davis433.311.2%28.0%11.013.22.88.3
Ohio StJared Sullinger430.314.4%21.2%8.310.93.35.0
KentuckyTerrence Jones432.511.5%20.8%8.810.82.86.0
  • Anthony Davis (28.0%), Thomas Robinson (27.8%), and Gorgui Deng (26.1%) have been the top high-minute defensive rebounders so far, with Jared Sullinger (21.2%) a distant fourth.
  • Kevin Young of Kansas has far and away the best NCAA tournament offensive rebounding rate among rotation players on these Final Four teams. He has played only 16.5 minutes per game, however. Among more relied-upon players, Deshaun Thomas (15.8%) and Jared Sullinger (14.4%) top the list.

Top 2012 NCAA Tournament Distributors

TeamPlayerGMinAssist%Ast/GAst/40TO/GAST:TO
LouisvillePeyton Siva429.353.3%7.09.63.02.3
Ohio StAaron Craft437.827.9%5.86.13.31.8
KentuckyMarquis Teague433.327.1%5.36.32.81.9
KansasTyshawn Taylor432.825.7%3.84.63.31.2
KansasElijah Johnson433.316.8%2.53.01.81.4

Assist% is an estimate of the fraction of teammate field goals that the player assists on while he is on the court.

  • There are basically three tiers to Assist% here. Peyton Siva is head and shoulders above everyone else. The point guards for the other three teams are, unsurprisingly, clustered in the next tier. Finally, there are eight more players with assist rates between 14% and 17%: 3 from Kansas, 2 from Kentucky, 2 from Ohio State, and 1 from Louisville.
  • Peyton Siva’s performance becomes even more remarkable when you consider he has made about 21% of his team’s field goals himself. About 63% of Louisville’s baskets while he has been on the floor in this NCAA tournament have been either scored or assisted on by Siva.

Top 2012 NCAA Tournament Shot Blockers

TeamPlayerGMinBlock%Blk/GBlk/40Blk/Foul
Ohio StAmir Williams26.526.4%1.59.21.5
KansasJeff Withey426.317.8%5.07.62.2
LouisvilleGorgui Dieng433.811.7%3.33.91.2
KentuckyAnthony Davis433.311.5%4.55.42.3
Ohio StJared Sullinger430.35.5%1.52.00.5

Block% is an estimate of the percent of opponent two point shots that a player blocks while he is on the floor. Blk/Foul is blocks per personal foul committed.

  • Obviously we’re not trying to imply that Amir Williams has been better than any of the other players listed here (though he does have half the blocks of Jared Sullinger in only 11% of the playing time). But he’s included just so he’ll be on your radar Saturday if makes it onto the court.
  • Jeff Withey of Kansas blocked 10 shots in the Sweet Sixteen against North Carolina State. That’s one shy of the NCAA record of 11, set by LSU’s Shaquille O’Neal in 1992.
  • Gorgui Dieng and Anthony Davis has performed similarly. The main difference in their per-game and per-40-minutes stats comes from the fact that Louisville has played a slower tempo so far in the tournament, and their opponents have attempted more three pointers, giving him fewer chances to block shots.

Kansas NCAA Tournament Player Stats

PlayerGMinPtRebORebAstStlBlkTO2PFG%3PFG%FT%
Elijah Johnson433.313.53.80.52.51.30.01.812-21 (57.1%)9-20 (45.0%)3-7 (42.9%)
Tyshawn Taylor432.812.05.00.03.82.80.03.321-35 (60.0%)0-17 (00.0%)6-11 (54.5%)
Thomas Robinson431.515.812.53.82.01.30.32.521-57 (36.8%)1-1 (100.0%)18-27 (66.7%)
Travis Releford430.08.34.01.80.81.50.00.810-16 (62.5%)2-11 (18.2%)7-11 (63.6%)
Jeff Withey426.38.56.01.80.80.35.00.310-18 (55.6%)--14-19 (73.7%)
Conner Teahan422.83.51.80.51.00.50.00.32-5 (40.0%)3-15 (20.0%)1-2 (50.0%)
Kevin Young416.54.05.33.01.30.00.51.04-16 (25.0%)--8-10 (80.0%)
Naadir Tharpe28.51.50.50.50.50.00.01.50-2 (00.0%)1-4 (25.0%)--
Justin Wesley42.50.80.30.30.00.00.00.01-1 (100.0%)--1-3 (33.3%)
Jordan Juenemann11.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.0------
  • Outside of Elijah Johnson, Kansas has made only 7 of 48 three pointers, for a terrible rate of 14.6%. And that includes a 1-for-1 performance from Thomas Robinson.
  • Kevin Young has one quarter of all Kansas offensive rebounds in the tournament so far.

Kentucky NCAA Tournament Player Stats

PlayerGMinPtRebORebAstStlBlkTO2PFG%3PFG%FT%
Anthony Davis433.314.511.02.82.80.84.50.817-29 (58.6%)0-2 (00.0%)24-31 (77.4%)
Marquis Teague433.314.53.00.35.30.80.02.817-32 (53.1%)2-7 (28.6%)18-23 (78.3%)
Terrence Jones432.513.58.82.82.81.31.51.318-32 (56.3%)2-6 (33.3%)12-21 (57.1%)
M. Kidd-Gilchrist432.013.57.32.81.30.00.32.318-33 (54.5%)1-4 (25.0%)15-17 (88.2%)
Darius Miller432.013.03.31.02.30.50.30.512-19 (63.2%)5-10 (50.0%)13-14 (92.9%)
Doron Lamb429.816.82.00.30.80.80.01.812-22 (54.5%)9-15 (60.0%)16-22 (72.7%)
Kyle Wiltjer46.02.30.50.30.00.00.30.80-2 (00.0%)3-5 (60.0%)--
Eloy Vargas31.30.00.70.70.00.00.00.00-1 (00.0%)----
  • Pick your poison. Kentucky has a ridiculous six players averaging at least 13 points per game in the NCAA tournament, shooting at least 53% from the field, and playing between 29.8 and 33.3 minutes per game.

Louisville NCAA Tournament Player Stats

PlayerGMinPtRebORebAstStlBlkTO2PFG%3PFG%FT%
Kyle Kuric435.59.52.30.30.51.00.80.38-16 (50.0%)5-21 (23.8%)7-10 (70.0%)
Gorgui Dieng433.87.08.01.00.51.33.30.510-24 (41.7%)1-2 (50.0%)5-7 (71.4%)
Chane Behanan432.014.07.83.50.81.30.81.522-34 (64.7%)1-2 (50.0%)9-16 (56.3%)
Peyton Siva429.39.02.00.37.01.00.03.013-30 (43.3%)1-4 (25.0%)7-8 (87.5%)
Chris Smith426.87.33.50.30.30.80.01.03-6 (50.0%)6-14 (42.9%)5-8 (62.5%)
Russ Smith420.513.33.01.01.31.30.02.38-32 (25.0%)7-10 (70.0%)16-20 (80.0%)
Jared Swopshire412.83.02.01.30.50.50.00.02-7 (28.6%)2-4 (50.0%)2-2 (100.0%)
Wayne Blackshear45.50.81.50.30.00.30.00.31-4 (25.0%)0-1 (00.0%)1-2 (50.0%)
Kevin Ware14.00.01.01.00.00.00.00.0--0-1 (00.0%)--
Elisha Justice33.30.70.00.00.00.00.00.31-2 (50.0%)--0-1 (00.0%)
Zach Price21.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00-1 (00.0%)----
  • All these numbers look a bit deflated thanks to Louisville’s slow pace. The Cardinals have played 30 less possessions than Kentucky, which is almost another entire half of basketball (at Louisville’s pace).
  • Kyle Kuric’s voluminous yet inefficient shooting from deep is not too surprising. For the year he has averaged more than 6 three point attempts per game, yet made only 33% of them.

Ohio State NCAA Tournament Player Stats

PlayerGMinPtRebORebAstStlBlkTO2PFG%3PFG%FT%
Deshaun Thomas438.321.88.54.50.80.31.32.028-50 (56.0%)7-17 (41.2%)10-12 (83.3%)
Aaron Craft437.810.34.00.55.83.30.03.39-13 (69.2%)2-8 (25.0%)17-21 (81.0%)
William Buford434.811.85.51.31.51.30.02.36-23 (26.1%)7-21 (33.3%)14-18 (77.8%)
Lenzelle Smith, Jr.430.811.35.50.51.00.50.31.57-11 (63.6%)7-15 (46.7%)10-14 (71.4%)
Jared Sullinger430.318.08.33.31.51.01.51.318-40 (45.0%)3-5 (60.0%)27-33 (81.8%)
Shannon Scott315.71.31.00.01.01.00.01.02-7 (28.6%)0-2 (00.0%)0-2 (00.0%)
Evan Ravenel47.01.51.30.50.00.00.31.01-1 (100.0%)--4-6 (66.7%)
Amir Williams26.51.52.00.50.50.01.51.01-2 (50.0%)--1-5 (20.0%)
Sam Thompson45.51.00.80.50.50.30.00.31-2 (50.0%)--2-2 (100.0%)
J.D. Weatherspoon13.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00-1 (00.0%)----
  • Jared Sullinger and Kentucky’s Terrence Jones are the only players on these Final Four teams to have averaged at least 1 point, offensive rebound, defensive rebound, assist, steal, and block per NCAA tournament game.
  • Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas are the only players averaging at least 16 points and 8 rebounds so far in the tournament.