Numbers Can (Sometimes) Lie in College Hoops

As a writer of hoops blogs, it’s easy to understand when there is the randomly misattributed stat, an occasional error, a typo or the like. When you are trying to relay the facts, oftentimes there is a slight disconnect between the actual events and the way they are recorded. There is room for error in the process, and nobody knows that more than people who cover the news… and college basketball statisticians. If you have any experience in trying to keep stats for your high school basketball team, then you might understand how difficult being accurate can be. At the college level there are more people involved in the process, but there are also more stats and the stakes are a lot higher. Millions of dollars in contracts to play professionally are on the line. That’s why making sure that the stats are correct is important. The validity of stats in college hoops is the subject of a really good read, written at BasketballProspectus.com by Ken Pomeroy.

You really have to read this one, especially if you are a fan of Acie Law, Texas A&M or New Mexico State. Those assists stats you were so impressed or disappointed with, might just be bunk. Assists are one of the most subjective stats in the three major American sports, and you can actually see what teams have “hometown scorers.”  Very interesting. If you think that your stats guy might be helping your guys, you should check their stats. You can learn how to do that in this article.

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Permalink - Posted in General on October 19, 2007 - Post a comment