It's a Game of Numbers

As final exams approach, we take a look at some of the numbers behind the games.

December 08, 2021

Tipoff

This week, we are going to try something a little different. Why? Why not? I like numbers. The goal here is to recap some of the action in college basketball through numbers. Leave a comment to let me know if you like this format. I may include it in future newsletters.

1,863. Ahead of being named #1 in the AP Poll on Monday for the first time in program history, Purdue men’s basketball had won the most games as a Division I team before reaching the top spot in the poll (source: Jared Berson, ESPN Stats & Info).

29. Arizona State was busy Wednesday night laying bricks when they should have been playing basketball. The Sun Devils scored 29 points in total against Washington State, which scored 51 points to win the game. Arizona State scored just 10 points in the first 20-minute half before picking up the pace a bit in the second half. For context, the Sun Devils football team averaged 29.7 points per game this season (source: Jordan Mendoza, USA Today).

8-6. That was the record in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge for this year with the Big Ten winning the most games in the men’s basketball matchups. This is the third year in a row the Big Ten has won the most games in the annual matchup that began in 1999. After winning the first 10 seasons, the ACC now holds a 12-8-3 all-time record in the series (source: Wikipedia).

6-8 weeks. UConn’s Paige Bueckers, the reigning National Player of the Year, fell late in the game against Notre Dame and suffered an apparent non-contact injury to her left leg. Fears of an ACL tear were abated when MRI and CT scans revealed a tibial plateau fracture, a painful injury that will sideline the star player for up to two months (source: Hartford Courant).

4. That was the number of overtime periods played on Wednesday, December 1st in a 104-100 win for NC State over Nebraska. It was the fifth time an ACC team has played 4 extra periods in one game and somehow, the Wolfpack have been involved in 3 of them (source: Duke Basketball Report).

The Mixtape 

The Field of 68 team puts out lots of great content each week. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.

  • The coaching carousel has grabbed the headlines in college football. Brian Kelly is now at LSU, Lincoln Riley headed west to USC, and Clemson is looking to replace its entire assistant coaching staff. Mark Turgeon decided that college basketball needed coaching news of its own and shocked the world by announcing he will leave Maryland. Travis Garrison met with Patrick Stevens of the Washington Post to talk about why Turgeon left and what could happen next. Read Four Point Play below for more from Travis on the situation in College Park.

  • You know what’s better than one pair of brothers? TWO pairs of brothers! This is the holiday season, after all. It’s a great time to get together with family and argue. The Field of 68’s BRAND NEW series Next Play features former (and future?) college coaches Archie and Sean Miller. You’ll want to check out their special guests on the latest episode, former NBA head coaches Jeff and Stan Van Gundy. They talk family dynamics, the history and present of basketball, and former Florida and current Bulls head coach Billy Donovan for some reason.

  • Rock Chalk, Jayhawk! The Field of 68 is proud to have its own Kansas-focused podcast, The Glue Guys with Richard and Landen Lucas. Richard is a former Oregon player and current broadcaster. His son, Landen, was a key contributor for Kansas from 2013 through 2017. The father-son duo were joined by a guest to discuss the role and impact of current KU big man David McCormack and all the little things he needs to do to help the current team reach its potential.

The Field of 12

The college football regular season is in the books and the Field of 12 is on the scene following Championship Saturday. Here is a brief sample of the new network from the makers of Field of 68.

Four Point Play

Every week, we’ll check in with one of our podcast hosts and see what they’re up to besides producing compelling content for us at The Field of 68.

This week, we checked in with Travis Garrison, former Maryland standout and host of the Field of 68 podcast, Go Terrapins, with Travis Garrison (available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts).

  1. The big news of the college basketball season to date was the shocking resignation of Mark Turgeon as head coach of Maryland. As an outsider, it seemed to me that he was at least modestly successful, having guided the Terrapins to 5 of the past 6 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments and winning a share of the Big Ten regular season title in the COVID-shortened 2020. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2015. When did things start to sour for Turgeon in College Park?

  • A lot of the fans, alumni, boosters weren’t happy with how things were going. On the outside looking in, things looked fairly successful. Fans were looking for long runs in the NCAA Tournament. You saw a lot of guys coming in, transferring. Just two years ago, they had a chance to win the whole thing. You cannot say too much about that run with how it ended. I heard conversations recently on how things ended over the past couple of days. I come at it from both sides, from the fans and boosters, and then from the perspective as a former player. The fans wanted bigger success. When it didn’t happen, you started hearing it when you come into work, when you are going home.

  1. Where do the Terrapins go from here? What type of coach do you think is realistic for Maryland and what type of coach would be successful there?

  • My opinion, Maryland needs to get a big name or a guy that can make an instant impact. You hear a lot about how hometown kids aren’t staying home. You need somebody that has a relationship with schools here, the big names in the area and keeping kids home. A coach that people will be happy with will have a winning attitude. The enthusiasm of Lefty Driessell, Gary Williams, I wouldn’t say a big reputation, but somebody that can make an immediate impact in keeping the fanbase happy and the home crowd on board.

  1. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that Maryland fans had turned on Turgeon a number of years ago. Beyond winning in March, what does it take to win the hearts of the fans? Is it as simple as “just win, baby?”

  • If you come in and take the team to the Sweet 16, the Final Four… Coach Manning, he is auditioning for this job. If the team turns it around and starts winning, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to see how he does for the next couple of years with regards to recruiting and winning on the court. Fans are expecting to see how things are going immediately. They are not going to be patient waiting for five years to win the Big Ten or NCAA Tournament.

And one!

  1. Let’s end this on a positive note, hopefully, by taking a look at the future. There’s always hope in the future, right? The year is 2026, the next Maryland head coach is finishing up his 4th season and looking ahead to many more years in the job. What did he do during the first 4 years to get here?

  • The first four years? It was on the up and up. In the tournament every year, to the Sweet 16 and possibly Elite 8; getting the local kids to stay home; and having the fans on his side. Coach Williams, he had his ups and downs, but people loved him because of his attitude and passion on the sidelines.

Stay tuned for upcoming episodes of Go Terrapins, with Travis Garrison podcast. Upcoming guests include Chris McCray, a former teammate with Travis and close friend to this day.

Wednesday Superlatives

Each week, we will shine a light on a team and an individual player that has captured the hearts of the world of college basketball.

  • Team of the Week: Alabama

    • Saturday was a day to remember for the Crimson Tide of Alabama. The football team took down Georgia in the SEC Title Game. Later that evening, Jaden Shackelford, JD Davison, and the men’s basketball team took down Gonzaga in convincing fashion. The Tide led by a stunning 51-35 margin at halftime and never looked back. In losing to Duke, Gonzaga looked like a team that struggled with the Blue Devils physicality up front. Nate Oats’s squad was similarly physical, but in different ways. The backcourt stood out for the victor with a barrage of 3’s from Shackelford and Davison while freshman center Charles Bediako proved to be big and strong enough to handle the paint for the undersized Alabama squad.

  • Player of the Week: David Roddy

    • You won’t find Colorado State in the AP Top 25 poll this week, which says more about the poll voters than it does about David Roddy and the unbeaten Rams. Roddy is an undersized forward at 6’5” that plays well above his height. He proved his mettle yet again on Saturday night against Saint Mary’s, scoring a team-leading 19 points and grabbing a team-leading 7 rebounds as Colorado State remained unbeaten on the season. Roddy has been playing at an All-American level this year, adding accurate shooting to his bull-in-a-china-shop style of play. Clear your calendars for December 21st. Roddy and the Rams will take on Alabama in what should be a stellar matchup.

Around the Rim

This section highlights some of the best writing on college basketball to hit the web. Consider these your extra credit assignments for fall semester.

It’s Finals Week for many college students, so what better time to ask which teams are passing and which are failing? Cooper Watson goes through the power conferences to check in on teams that are not passing the test so far this season. Cooper was on the spot with Virginia. Shortly after publishing this article, the Wahoos went on the road to James Madison and lost a close one to the Dukes. The DMV is well represented in this list with Maryland from the Big Ten and Georgetown from the Big East joining this list.

Who passes the test? Lukas Harkins shares his thoughts on five players that are acing the test in the early season. The list includes players, such as Duke junior Wendell Moore, that entered the year under the shadow or more heralded teammates that have stepped up their game this year. For Arizona’s Kerr Kriisa, Baylor’s LJ Cryer, Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther, and Villanova’s Brandon Slater, their patience playing behind teammates last year proved all they needed was opportunity.

The grades are out, sort of. The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings were released by the NCAA for the first time this college basketball season. One of the big problems with NET, which is a clear upgrade over the RPI that overvalued strength of schedule, is that it is opaque. The NCAA refuses to share the formula they use to create the NET. Kerry Miller does the hard work to parse through the numbers and identify trends and patterns. Purdue is #1, which gives the rating system credibility. Scoring margin matters while true road games do not. If you want to watch a mid-major this year, consider Wyoming. The Cowboys debuted at #12 after an 8-0 start. Can they be this year’s version of Colgate?