Excellence in Analytics – 2019/2020 NCAA Men’s D1 Edition

As we will not be able to see which teams would have risen to the top in the 2019/2020 season, Pivot Analysis would like to recognize the teams and players who excelled in various advanced or efficiency-based metrics. 

All of these metrics are based on how these teams performed relative to their competition in non-garbage time minutes. In other words, we have tried to adjust for strength of schedule and tried to ensure that we capture the most accurate version of each team. The player listed for each team is the player that has the highest on-court impact in that category and has played at least 500 possessions. 

As an aside, Pivot Analysis had the opportunity to support Men’s and Women’s teams from Division 3 to Division 1 this season and given the recent global events we would like to virtually offer all NCAA coaches access to their 2019/2020 season. Please sign up here to access your data.

Scoring Efficiency

For the first category, we would like to highlight those teams which had the best total scoring metrics. These include total points added (aka plus/minus) as well as offensive and defensive ratings.

Total Points Added

This measures the increase in plus/minus per 100 possessions based on their strength of schedule. The starting point for this metric is net rating and is then adjusted for each team’s opponents. These are the highest performing teams on a per possessions basis this season.

Offensive Points Added

This measures the increase in offensive scoring per 100 possessions based on their strength of schedule. The starting point for this metric is offensive rating and is then adjusted for each team’s opponents. These are the highest performing offenses this season.


Defensive Points Saved

This measures the decrease in opponent scoring per 100 possessions based on their strength of schedule. The starting point for this metric is defensive rating and is then adjusted for each team’s opponents. These are the highest performing defenses this season.


Four Factors

For the second category, we would like to highlight those teams which had the best overall opponent-adjusted Four Factors metrics. These are described in detail in Dean Oliver’s book Basketball on Paper, and are briefly summarized here. These include (in order of correlation with winning) Effective Field Goal Percentage, Turnover Percentage, Offensive Rebound Rate, and Free Throw Rate. Once again, the players listed have the top on-court ratings in that specific category and have played at least 500 possessions.

Effective Field Goal Percentage (EFG)

These teams are the best in terms of opponent-adjusted Net EFG. Net EFG refers to the marginal difference between offensive EFG and opponent EFG. In other words, these teams have the most efficient shot profiles, relative to their opponents.


Turnover Percentage (TOV)

These teams are the best in terms of opponent-adjusted Net TOV. Net TOV refers to the marginal difference between opponent TOV and offensive TOV. In other words, these teams have the best turnover margins, relative to their opponents.


Offensive Rebound Rate (ORR)

These teams are the best in terms of opponent-adjusted Net ORR. Net ORR refers to the marginal difference between offensive ORR and opponent ORR. In other words, these teams have the best rebounding margins, relative to their opponents.


Free Throw Rate (FTR)

These teams are the best in terms of opponent-adjusted Net FTR. Net FTR refers to the marginal difference between offensive FTR and opponent FTR. In other words, these teams are the best at getting to the line and not committing fouls, relative to their opponents.


All of these stats and much much more are available via our analysis tools and are accessible to any NCAA program. Pivot Analysis is the market leader in college basketball advanced stat generation and visualization. Their products make it easy to identify optimal lineup rotations, scout an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, evaluate a player’s impact on the team, and identify prospects for the next level. Visit us today to learn more about how our tools can be used to save you time and effort.