Thursday, February 08, 2007

Performance in At-risk Games: Big East through 2/7/07

Conference standings (by average efficiency margin)
TeamEff MarginRecord
Georgetown+217-2
Pittsburgh+199-1
Marquette+88-2
West Virginia+77-4
Louisville+76-4
Providence+45-4
Notre Dame+36-4
Syracuse+15-5
UConn+14-6
Villanova04-5
DePaul-34-6
Seton Hall-93-6
USF-113-7
St. John's-125-6
Cincinnati-131-8
Rutgers-182-9

Disclaimer: Obviously, all at-risk games (all losses plus road/neutral wins plus home wins against NCAA Tournament teams) are not created equally so I'll provide more information than just the numbers. I am listing teams in order of efficiency margin (points scored per 100 possessions minus points allowed per 100 possessions) simply as an organizational choice. These are not rankings.

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Pittsburgh9-3112102+10
vs. Big East9-111192+19

Wins: vs. Western Michigan (+21), @Auburn (+15), @Buffalo (+9), @Syracuse (+11), @DePaul (+17), Georgetown (+13), @Cincinnati (+31), @Villanova (+10), @West Virginia (+21)

Losses: @Wisconsin (-24), vs. Oklahoma State (-4), Marquette (-6)

I didn't expect this kind of defensive performance from Pittsburgh in conference play. Outside of their win over Georgetown, where the Panthers allowed 1.26 points per possession to the excellent Hoya offense, no one can score against Pittsburgh. Holding West Virginia to 0.76 points per possession in Morgantown last night is most impressive.

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Georgetown8-5112103+9
vs. Big East7-2123102+21

Wins: @Vanderbilt (+19), @Fairfield (+23), @Michigan (+26), @Rutgers (+25), @Seton Hall (+24), @St. John's (+43), @Louisville (+17)

Losses: Old Dominion (-26), Oregon (-10), @Duke (-14), Villanova (-6), @Pittsburgh (-13)

Also: Notre Dame (+31)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
West Virginia7-5112104+8
vs. Big East7-4109102+7

Wins: vs. Montana (+29), vs. Western Michigan (+35), vs. NC State (+21), @Duquense (+51), vs. Marshall (+18), @Rutgers (+17), @Seton Hall (+14)

Losses: vs. Arkansas (-11), @Notre Dame (-4), @Marquette (-28), @Cincinnati (-19), Pittsburgh (-21)

The game @Rutgers was the most efficient two-way offensive performance from any of the 100 or so teams I'm currently tracking. West Virginia scored 1.53 points per possession. Rutgers scored 1.36 points per possession.

Winning any one of their upcoming games against UCLA, @Georgetown, or @Pittsburgh should cement their place in the NCAA Tournament. On the flip side, losing to Seton Hall, @Providence, or against Cincinnati could really hurt their case.

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Villanova8-710799+8
vs. Big East4-51031030

Wins: vs. College of Charleston (+18), vs. Iowa (+46), @Stony Brook (+44), vs. Penn (+14), @Oklahoma (+20), @LaSalle (+23), @Georgetown (+6), @Providence (+17)

Losses: vs. Xavier (-7), Drexel (-5), @West Virginia (-15), DePaul (-10), @Syracuse (-20), @Notre Dame (-1), Pittsburgh (-10)

Also: Notre Dame (+22), Texas (+14)

I haven't decided if Villanova is a good argument for tracking at-risk profiles or just for listing the individual game results. Their win over Stony Brook is carrying too much weight in their at-risk efficiency margin but their home wins over Notre Dame and Texas aren't carrying any weight yet (and may never). A strong finish will likely make the Wildcats a deserving and popular NCAA Tournament dark horse.

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Marquette7-49998+1
vs. Big East8-210597+5

Wins: vs. Texas Tech (+16), vs. Duke (+21), @Valparaiso (+4), @UConn (+8), @Louisville (+12), @Pittsburgh (+6), @South Florida (+2)

Losses: North Dakota State (-6), Wisconsin (-5), @Providence (-24), Syracuse (-21)

Also: West Virginia (+28)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Notre Dame3-51061060
vs. Big East6-4107104+3

Wins: vs. Lafayette (+43), vs. Maryland (+9), @Syracuse (+19)

Losses: vs. Butler (-5), @Georgetown (-31), @Villanova (-22), @St. John's (-6), @South Florida (-9)

Also: Alabama (+15), West Virginia (+4)

Not realizing that marijuana possession was going to get Kyle McAlarney kicked out of school, yes, I did pick Notre Dame to win the Big East. Since he was and they won't, the relatively easy conference schedule which I thought would give them a leg up (I also seriously underestimated Pittsburgh) could instead hurt their NCAA Tournament chances.

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Syracuse3-8100102-2
vs. Big East5-5102101+1

Wins: @Canisius (+20), @Marquette (+21), @Rutgers (+19)

Losses: Wichita State (-4), vs. Oklahoma State (-9), Drexel (-9), Pittsburgh (-11), @St. John's (-5), @Louisville (-7), Notre Dame (-21), @UConn (-14)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Louisville3-8101104-3
vs. Big East6-4107100+7

Wins: @South Florida (+39), @DePaul (+13), @Cincinnati (+24)

Losses: vs. Dayton (-7), vs. Arizona (-12), UMass (-8), Kentucky (-21), @Notre Dame (-22), Marquette (-12), @Villanova (-8), Georgetown (-17)

It seems to me that Louisville needs a good win just to get on the bubble.

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
DePaul4-11101108-7
vs. Big East4-699103-4

Wins: Kansas (+11), @Villanova (+10), @Rhode Island (+16), @Rutgers (+43),

Losses: @Bradley (-31), @Northwestern (-21), vs. Kentucky (-6), vs. Purdue (-16), @UAB (0), @St. John's (-22), Pittsburgh (-17), Louisville (-13), @Georgetown (-32), @West Virginia (-21), @Syracuse (-13)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
UConn1-893103-10
vs. Big East4-69796+1

Win: @St. John's (+15)

Losses: @West Virginia (-12), @LSU (-23), Marquette (-8), @Pittsburgh (-13), Indiana (-3), @Louisville (-20), Providence (-13), @DePaul (-8)

There are people who, as part of their jobs, voted this team into the top ten earlier this year. To me, that's far more wrong-headed than overrating Wichita State's early series of road wins. Wichita State's top ten ranking was based on misunderstanding tangible accomplishments.

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Seton Hall2-1097108-11
vs. Big East3-6100109-9

Wins: @Morgan State (+26), vs. Liberty (+5)

Losses: Farleigh Dickinson (-8), vs. Virginia Tech (-24), vs. Oral Roberts (+1), @BYU (-14), @Providence (-33), @Notre Dame (-18), Georgetown (-24), @Marquette (-19), @Rutgers (-8), West Virginia (-14)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
USF3-1293104-11
vs. Big East3-794105-11

Wins: @Winston-Salem State (+30), @East Carolina (+20), vs. Norfolk State (+43)

Losses: Richmond (-14), vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (-9), @UNLV (-20), Missouri State (-17), @UAB (-20), @UConn (-32), @Pittsburgh (-33), Louisville (-39), @West Virginia (-22), @Notre Dame (-34), Marquette (-2), @St. John's (-14)

Also: Notre Dame (+9)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Providence2-794107-13
vs. Big East5-4107103+4

Wins: Marquette (+24), @UConn (+13)

Losses: Brown (-15), @Florida (-28), @Florida State (-43), @Louisville (-27), @Seton Hall (-3), Villanova (-17), @Marquette (-13)

Also: Boston College (+15)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Cincinnati1-1397114-17
vs. Big East1-8100113-13

Win: vs. Temple (+7)

Losses: Wofford (-1), UAB (-6), vs. Ohio State (-32), vs. Ohio (-19), @Memphis (-53), Rutgers (-23), @USF (-21), @Syracuse (0), Pittsburgh (-31), @Georgetown (-30), Louisville (-24), St. John's (-10), @Providence (-4)

Also: Xavier (+18), West Virginia (+19)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
St. John's2-1093112-19
vs. Big East5-693105-12

Wins: @Niagara (+33), @Cincinnati (+10)

Losses: Maryland (-41), Texas (-3), Illinois State (-20), Hofstra (-23), @West Virginia (-44), @Seton Hall (-26), UConn (-15), @DePaul (-16), @Pittsburgh (-42), Georgetown (-43)

Also: Notre Dame (+6)

TeamRecordOffEffDefEffDiff
Rutgers2-1590112-22
vs. Big East2-992110-18

Wins: @Princeton (+14), @Cincinnati (+23)

Losses: Kansas State (-22), Jackson State (-7), vs. Bradley (-36), vs. Miami, OH (-22), @Temple (-39), @North Carolina (-60), @Seton Hall (-6), Syracuse (-19), DePaul (-43), Georgetown (-25), @Providence (-19), @South Florida (-40), West Virginia (-17), @UConn (-23), @Marquette (-36)

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