Some teams need some "Roger Federer Advice"

Getting back to my old way of posting (pulling stats out of the air, coming up with convoluted ideas, tempo free stats here, tempo free stats there, etc...)

Some highlight games of last night (home teams? where are you? Hold serve!!!!):


Virginia Tech 81 UNC 80

Yeah, the score was in the 80's but both teams threw up some duds, tempo-free-wise in the Hokies big big upset in Chapel Hill in this 81 possession game. Both teams were pretty much even on the stat sheet, with each posting a 42% efg, a low 12% (vt) and 11% (unc) turnover rate and in the low 30's% in offensive rebounding on the way to averaging 1.00 points-per-possession for vtech and .989 for unc, far below their averages of 1.09 and 1.13 respectively. Zabian Dowdell lead the way with 19 free-throw attempts, 17 of them made and 33 points total for a 1.37 points-per-weighted-shot average. UNC pulled their shooting percentage down with a 3 for 17 brick fest from beyond the arc.


Texas Tech 77 Texas A & M 75

You can see the difference in efficiency between this game and the UNC game, as this one clipped at a much slower 68 possession pace, but both teams almost hit 80 points as Tech averaged 1.13 ppp and A&M was at 1.10 even though turnovers were high (26% vs. 24% for a&m). They both shot well, 57% for the winners and 56% efg for the home team and were fairly in every stat as well, but it was the work of Jarrius Jackson, not just with his buzzer-beater but the total body of work: He hoisted 37% of Tech's shots, but he was making 1.39 points-per-weighted shot on his way to 31 points. The Raiders normal struggle on the offensive glass were non-existent as they hauled in 41% of their available misses, compared to a low 28.3% average they've had in-conference.


Southern Illinois 51 Missouri St. 47

The Salukis further solidified their position as king of the MVC with this "ugly" but complete win away from Carbondale. This 64 possession game, (faster than S. Illinois' usual pace of 60) saw some poor shooting (37% for the Salukis, 43% for the Bears) and an overall low scoring efficiency (.8 ppp for the winners vs. .74 ppp). Randal Falkner lead the way with 20 points on 11 shots, grabbing 12 total boards in a game that definitely lacking in second-chance opportunities (20% offensive rebounding vs. 22%).
Big win nonetheless for the boys from Carbondale.

Kentucky 85 Tennessee 89

In a night when the home teams were dropping their serves, the Vols managed to hold off a pesky Kentucky team behind some effectively efficient offensive displayage. This 74 possession game saw a total of 174 points, with Tennessee hitting 56% efg vs. Kentucky's 64%. However, it was the Vols' care taking of the ball (only 8 turnovers in the game vs. 19 for the 'Cats) that was the difference-maker as they also didn't rebound all that well on the offensive glass (29% vs. 42%), which has been the norm for the Vols.