I looked at the team national rankings in several statistical categories. Some surprised me. Some did not (although they made me groan to confirm what I already knew).
Turnovers (fewest) per game - 131st (15.7)
Turnover margin - 162nd (.5)
Assist/turnover ratio - 5th (1.56)
Assists per game - 2nd (24.5)
Field goal % - 1st (56.1%)
3 pt % - 10th (41.8%)
3 pt attempted - not ranked (the last ones listed were ranked 150th with 123 attempts. Baylor attempted 55)
Free throw % - 329th (56.0%)
Field goal % defense - 3rd (28.8%)
3 pt % defense - 207th (31.4%)
Observations:
Granted, these numbers are largely built on the backs of patsy opponents, but I think that is true for nearly all of the teams so far, so I suspect this balances out. If anyone has advanced metrics that take the strength of the opponent into account, I would be interested to see them.
The stats are here for anyone who cares to delve more deeply. https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-women/d1
Turnovers (fewest) per game - 131st (15.7)
Turnover margin - 162nd (.5)
Assist/turnover ratio - 5th (1.56)
Assists per game - 2nd (24.5)
Field goal % - 1st (56.1%)
3 pt % - 10th (41.8%)
3 pt attempted - not ranked (the last ones listed were ranked 150th with 123 attempts. Baylor attempted 55)
Free throw % - 329th (56.0%)
Field goal % defense - 3rd (28.8%)
3 pt % defense - 207th (31.4%)
Observations:
- I have had a perception that we are missing too many good shots. That may be true, but I'll pump the brakes seeing as how we're doing better than any team in the country.
- What comes as no surprise: free throws are horrible. We literally are more likely to make a field goal than a free throw. This is embarrassing, and there is just no sugar coating it.
- Turnovers. This is obviously a problem and has been readily apparent in watching the games. It's not as bad as I thought it would be (we're middling, whereas I thought we would be near the bottom), but we're not going to be able to get away with that against good teams for long. To say the least, it is too much for a perennial elite team.
- BUT I am seeing a silver lining here. My biggest surprise, due to the excessive turnovers, was to see us as a top five team in A/TO ratio. Obviously those are being counterbalanced by the fact that we rack up a ton of assists. This is telling me that we have a very unselfish team, and that they actually do move the ball very well, but we are missing some polish and precision that needs to be present. I think this has everything to do with being forced to fit SG pegs into a PG hole. But every game gives Chloe and Juicy more experience running the point, and I think that the turnovers will slowly improve over the season. Whether they do is the key to the season.
- I believe that a number of comments on this board in the vein of "we can't shoot threes" are unwarranted. We're in the top 10, folks. Now, as can be expected with a Mulkey team, we don't build our offense on them and don't shoot them very often. We take the shot if it's there, and generally knock them down when we do. I'm ok with that. Personally, I get more frustrated with teams that just hang out on the perimeter and jack them up all night long, which I often interpret as being lazy and settling.
- Our three point defense has been an oft-cited concern. It's interesting to me, because if I were just told that we were holding opponents to 31%, I would have thought that was an acceptable number. But by comparison nationally, it ain't so hot. It needs work, for sure, but I still think some of the criticism in that area has been exaggerated.
Granted, these numbers are largely built on the backs of patsy opponents, but I think that is true for nearly all of the teams so far, so I suspect this balances out. If anyone has advanced metrics that take the strength of the opponent into account, I would be interested to see them.
The stats are here for anyone who cares to delve more deeply. https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-women/d1