Tuesday Night Action

Let's take a look at the close BigTen/ACC challenge games (as there were some duds as well)

Georgia Tech 79 at Indiana 83
Stats were pretty even across the board as Indy put up 1.13 PPP vs. Gtech's 1.07 in a back and forth tussle played out over 74 possessions. Eric Gordon would impress me one minute, and then dumbfound me the next. His 1.34 PPWS were superb, getting 29 points on 14 FGA and 16 FTA, but he turned the ball over 8 times and had 2 assists and no steals to show for it. No doubt this kid is great off the dribble, he just lacked a little discipline at times. The Hoosiers were helped by an 18 attempt edge at the free throw line, mostly added on in the last minute.


Purdue 58 at Clemson 61
KC Rivers bucket with just over 30 seconds proved to be the game winner in a game that saw the biggest lead at 5 points for both teams.
Overall, the game saw some average to sub-average shooting, with the Boilermakers at 42% efg and the Tigers at 52% efg. Purdue ended at 2 for 12 from three-point land for the night. The .81 vs. .85 PPP was delivered by 19 turnovers for Purdue to 20 for Clemson in this 72 possession battle. Raymond Sykes led the charge with this gem: in 18 minutes he had 5 turnovers, 2 points and 2 fouls. Nevertheless, a big holding of serve at home for the ACC.


Bonus-game highlight:

Maryland-Eastern Shore 44 at West Virginia 110
I just couldn't resist taking a look at this one. Here's the stats:
West Virginia shot 70% efg on the way to 1.41 PPP in a 78 possession blowout. MD-Eastern Shore shot 27% in getting only .56 points on each possession. They turned the ball over on a third of their possessions and only grabbed 29% of their misses. Out of the 78 possessions, they only made 14 field goals. Counter this with the Mountaineers 45 made field goals. 13 players saw time for West Virginia, all with at least 7 minutes. Joe Alexander had the line of the night:
In 24 minutes of play, he posted 22 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 1 turnover.

Butler at it Again

A lot of happenings over the long, glorious food-infested weekend, so I'll at least get a quick shot out there to highlight Butler's huge start for a second year in a row.

In taking down Michigan, Virginia Tech and Texas Tech, in that order, the Bulldogs of Butler put on quite an offensive efficientizling show:

Michigan game: 79-65. 1.34 points-per-possession while hurling up 32 three's against 55 total shots. Yes, over 58% of their shots came from treyland. But when you shoot 53% from there, en route to a 61% efg, then by all means, keep shooting.

Vtech game: 84-78 in OT. 1.21 PPP on a more human 42% 3pt shooting to go with 58% efg in a faster 70 possession OT game.

Texas Tech game: 81-71. 1.42 PPP!! Straight stats for ya: 67% 3pt shooting on 24 threes out of 60 total shots. 77% efg. You read that correctly. They only needed 47 total shots and 11 free-throws to get to 81 in a 57 possession game. Just unreal.

More side dishes: Their turnover percent went hand-in-hand with their shooting: 12%, 13% and 12% in their games respectively, keeping their TO's in the single digits.

AJ Graves shooting 3's: 5 for 10 against the Wolverines. 4 for 13 against Vtech and 6 for 8 against Texas Tech for an over 48% average during the Tourney. The Senior from Switz City will continue to loft them up and more often than not, will have a good night shooting.


If we want to take a "Glass is half empty" approach, they allowed 1.10, 1.12 and 1.25 PPP respectively in the tourney, far above their season average of .96.

Starting Fresh for 2007

Time to jump right into the pool. There's no better way.

UCLA - 68 MSU - 63
Here we had two Goliaths looking for a good resume-building victory last night in Kansas City. Michigan St. shot surprisingly well (56% efg vs. UCLA's pedestrian 42%) but it was UCLA that made the most of it's missed opportunities. Anytime you're rebounding over 50% of your misses on the offensive end, you're allowed to shoot a little under your average. No doubt UCLA has not shot well thus far (only at 47% efg for the season), they are averaging an over 42% offensive rebounding %.
***correction*** Michigan St. turned it over on 28% of their possessions, led by Kevin Lucas' 4 TO's in just 22 minutes of play in a slow 64 possession contest. UCLA scored 1.06 points-per-possession while MSU was held under .98 for the game.


Duke - 79 Illinois - 66
Duke continues to impress with a quickness on and off the ball that we haven't seen in a few season. The Illini offense was held in check, shooting only 35% efg and posting .97 PPP against Duke's 1.16 PPP and blistering 63% efg. Gerald Henderson was the Beast of the Game, getting 23 points out of 15 field goals for 1.22 PPWS.
One thing to note is Duke's increase in tempo from last year's sluggish pace. They're already averaging around 74 possessions per game, up from last year's 66.



Marquette - 91 Oklahoma St - 61
The Golden Eagles shot the barn down(62% efg), defended well (OK St. got .83 points a possession) and kept the pace up to get 91 points in a 73 possession game.
Wesley Matthews led the 5 Eagles in double digits while getting 13 points only 6 shots from the field and 5 for 5 free-throw shooting. Ousmane Barro was keeper the glass, getting 10 boards in only 18 minutes of play.
The victory sets up a tasty rematch of last year's duel in which Dominic James showcased the tall glass of talent that he possesses.

Let's see what happens with a much-improved Blue Devils squad.




Good to be back in this thing. I'll be out of town, but posts will regain strength next Monday.

Things to look forward to after the 1st month in:

Who's tempo is shifting?
Boards, what are they?
A wish list for stats

Rumblings...

Getting ramped back up for another season of Tempo-Free fantasy. I've been a little caught up in some other workings, so the season has been rolling and the tempo-free stats have been swirling in a vat, waiting to be plucked and perused.

At the latest, this should be up and running full speed after T-day, but I hope to get a few posts rolling this weekend.

Thanks for stopping back, it should be yet another good year.