Exceptional Qualities of the 2014-2015 Spiders

[fan2011]

I wanted to look back over the season and understand our season through the lens of statistics. I found that we were exceptional in a few statistical categories, and by exceptional I mean top 10.

Things were top 10 in Offensively:

FG% at Rim: 68.9% (5th best in the country, right behind Kentucky)
eFG% in Transition: 63.2% (10th best in the country)
Turnover %: 15.6% (10th best in the country)

We were exceptionally good at scoring at the rim and scoring in transition. We also handled the ball extremely well, and considering we played VCU 3 times the fact that we were top 10 in turnover % is pretty amazing.


Things we were top 10 in Defensively:

Forcing 2pt jumpers: 41.7% (9th best in the country)
Limiting shots in transition: 15.9% (7th best in the country)
Assists Rate: 42.6% (5th best in the country)

Our defense takes away transition opportunities, we were 7th best in the country at limiting shots in transition. Our defense also forces teams to take the the 2 point jumper at a very high rate, which is a very good thing. We take away the 3 and the easy baskets inside very effectively forcing teams to settle for the worst shot in basketball for 41.7% of their shots. We also limited the number of assist our opponents had, opposing teams only had assists on 42.6% of their shots. A low assist rate on defense is another sign of taking away good shot opportunities. These are important facets of a good defense.


If people are interested I might write up a complete statistical breakdown of the team instead of just listing things we were really good at.

 

[Ulla1]

Thanks for the interesting stats, 2011. A complete statistical breakdown would be greatly appreciated!

 

[SpiderTrap]

Without the statistics, which I normally love - I think our defense looked very good last year and played at a level we need to make an NCAA run.

Our biggest issue was simply offense. In the last few years, we have struggled to score overall and last year was slightly different because I thought we have good options and would play well offensively for most of the game but we always seem to hit these long droughts where we go scoreless or only score 2-4 points over like a 6-8 minute period. Next thing you know - our 5 point lead turns into an 8 point deficit and we only have 4 minutes left in the game.

We just never could stop the bleeding quick enough to keep us closer. Next year - we should have the offensive weapons with ShawnDre, Cline, and Allen - and maybe Wood - to score points, but can we have someone when they see that run happening make it stop? I feel like that is something we missed last year - we had too many scoring lapses in tight games.

 

[Stork3]

Fan 2011 - would appreciate the whole statistical story, if you would be so kind.