by Patrick Schmitt / Just Play Solutions – Analytics Academy The Iowa Hawkeyes are currently experiencing their best season since Lute Olson coached them to the Final Four back in 1980. Current head coach Fran McCaffery has a 203-145 record in 11 seasons at Iowa. The Hawks roster this year is full of upperclassmen and
Hoop Insights: Rutgers is Here to Stay
by Aaron Hanshaw / Just Play Solutions – Analytics Academy After finishing 20-11 last year with an 11-9 record in the Big Ten, everyone should’ve known Rutgers was for real. But if there was any doubt headed into this season, Steve Pikiell’s group has erased it, starting off 7-1 and winning three of their first four
Hoop Insights: Gonzaga’s Offensive Efficiency
by Patrick Schmitt / Just Play Solutions – Analytics Academy Mark Few has had a great career at Gonzaga, having won over 600 games as head coach of the Bulldogs since 1999. This year’s team may be the most talented in his tenure, as they’re off to a 6-0 record, with three victories over top-15
Hoop Insights: Marquette’s New Go-To Threat on Offense
The player making the strongest impact from this rebuilt 2020-2021 roster is guard Koby McEwen. The Senior from Toronto played second chair to the likes of Howard in seasons past, only averaging 9.5 points per game in 2019-20. Yet so far this season, he’s been the go-to scorer late in games for Marquette and is leading the team with 15.7 points per game (almost three full points ahead of his next teammate).
Hoop Insights: Kentucky’s Shooting Woes
by Aaron Hanshaw / Just Play Solutions – Analytics Academy In a year where so many things look different than they once were, it’s no surprise this college basketball season has begun in equally unusual fashion: Bill Self is playing small ball, Frank Martin is bald, and the highest-profile tournament took place in New Jersey.
Hoop Insights: Wisconsin’s Wizard – Micah Potter
Micah Potter could be the secret weapon that unleashes a Badger run deep into March. Potter has given the Badgers a new option to run their offense through and has made them a better defensive team in conference play.
Hoop Insights: The Key to Creighton’s Success
Omaha. Somewhere in middle America. The Creighton Bluejays have been on fire as of late, winning their past four contests and eight of their last nine overall. From the outside, it may look like the Jays’ success is due solely to the play of their top three guards: Mitch Ballock, Ty-Shon Alexander and Marcus Zegarowski.
Hoop Insights: Filip Petrusev and Gonzaga Around the Rim
Through the first several weeks of the season, we’ve seen six teams take the number one spot in the polls. First, Michigan State took the top position in the preseason, followed by Kentucky then Duke. Louisville held it down for a couple of weeks, then Kansas took over for a week before a one-point loss to Villanova.
Hoop Insights: Georgetown’s Addition by Subtraction
Numbers don’t lie. Sure, they often don’t give the full context, but they do tell a story. Last week, the big number for Georgetown was two. And no, that two is not for the two players who transferred or the two current players implicated in off-the-court issues. That two is for two wins the general
Hoop Insights: Kansas Bigs and the Death Lineup You Haven’t Noticed
It was only a handful of years ago that Kansas basketball was synonymous with high-low offense. For years, you could expect two true bigs on the floor at all times, with constant ball reversals and post seals in the half-court. Sure, there were various entries and tweaks—some years, they ball-screened out of their high-low stuff constantly and
Hoop Insights: Virginia Tech is Wearing Out the Three-Point Line
Offense in college basketball is bad right now. This isn’t an opinion, it’s an objective fact. Sure, it’s early in the season, but the numbers would indicate we’re headed for the worst offensive year since 2015-16, when the shot clock was reduced to 30 seconds. You can attribute this decrease in efficiency to a number
Hoop Insights: How Cole Anthony will get even better for UNC
There’s no denying that last year was a fun year for the freshman class in the ACC. A freshman won Player of the Year (Zion Williamson), a freshman led the league in scoring (R.J. Barrett), and a freshman held down starting point guard duties for the national champs (Kihei Clark). Four ACC freshmen became lottery
