Round Robin: This year, both the Big 12 and Big East have been helped by playing a true round robin conference schedule. The Big 12 finished No. 1 and the Big East No. 2 in non-conference KPI, helping lead both conference’s conference-only KPI to also be No. 1 and No. respectively. Non-conference results have a chain reaction for all conference rivals.
Top Wins From Top Teams: Duke (3), Kentucky (2), and Virginia (2) have combined for seven of the top 10 wins of the season. Duke has three of the top five (at Virginia, at Wisconsin, at Louisville). Kentucky’s win over Kansas in the Champions Classic is the best win to be at a neutral site all season.
Strength of Schedule: For the second straight year, Kansas will likely finish with the top strength of schedule in the country. They currently have the No. 1 SOS with a No. 25 Remaining SOS and a No. 1 Future SOS. Their non-conference SOS is No. 3.
- #3 Kansas (19-4, 8-2 Big 12), .196 SOS
- #13 Oklahoma (16-7, 7-4 Big 12), .158 SOS
- #28 Georgetown (15-8, 7-5 Big East), .155 SOS
- #11 North Carolina (18-6, 8-3 ACC), .148 SOS
- #56 Florida (12-11, 5-5 SEC), .145 SOS
- #30 Xavier (15-9, 6-6 Big East), .133 SOS
- #2 Virginia (21-1, 9-1 ACC), .132 SOS
- #33 Texas (15-8, 4-6 Big 12), .130 SOS
- #162 Missouri (7-16, 1-9 SEC), .127 SOS
- #17 Providence (17-7, 7-4 Big East), .125 SOS
Remaining SOS: The remaining strength of schedule over the last five weeks of the season (not including conference tournament matchups)
- West Virginia
- Wake Forest
- Texas Tech
- Syracuse
- Kansas State
- Nebraska
- TCU
- Florida State
- Seton Hall
- Iowa State
Top 10 Wins by KPI – Week of February 2-8, 2015
- +0.88 #2 Virginia 75, at #11 North Carolina 64 (Feb 2)
- +0.87 #9 Baylor 87, at #24 West Virginia 69 (Feb 7)
- +0.86 #22 Cincinnati 62, at #31 SMU 54 (Feb 5)
- +0.78 at #4 Duke 90, #19 Notre Dame 60 (Feb 7)
- +0.78 at #26 Oklahoma State 67, #3 Kansas 62 (Feb 7)
- +0.77 at #67 Arizona State 81, #6 Arizona 78 (Feb 7)
- +0.75 #115 Auburn 81, at #29 LSU 77 (Feb 5)
- +0.75 at #57 Wyoming 59, #32 Colorado State 48 (Feb 4)
- +0.74 at #2 Virginia 52, #12 Louisville 47 (Feb 7)
- +0.74 #31 SMU 68, at #77 Tulsa 57 (Feb 7)
Top 10 Wins by KPI – FULL SEASON
- +1.03 #4 Duke 69, at #3 Virginia 63 (Jan 31)
- +1.00 #4 Duke 80, at #5 Wisconsin 70 (Dec 3)
- +1.00 #42 Miami (FL) 90, at #4 Duke 74 (Jan 13)
- +0.94 #2 Virginia 74, at #10 VCU 57 (Dec 6)
- +0.93 #4 Duke 63, at #12 Louisville 52 (Jan 17)
- +0.92 #1 Kentucky 58, at #12 Louisville 50 (Dec 27)
- +0.90 #69 Richmond 64, at #10 VCU 55 (Jan 31)
- +0.90 #1 Kentucky 72, #3 Kansas 40 (Nov 18)
- +0.89 #57 Wyoming 60, at #32 Colorado State 54 (Jan 7)
- +0.88 #2 Virginia 75, at #11 North Carolina 64 (Feb 2)
Top 10 Outlier Games by KPI – FULL SEASON
- 122.4% #348 Non D-I/SE Oklahoma State 69, at #77 Tulsa 66 (Dec 10)
- 120.1% #348 Non D-I/Ferris State 82, at #110 Bowling Green 68 (Dec 21)
- 93.7% #240 Brown 77, at #17 Providence 67 (Dec 8)
- 90.4% #307 Rice 72, at #90 Western Kentucky 68 (Feb 7)
- 86.3% #227 Houston 77, at #63 Murray State 74 (Nov 14)
- 84.7% #308 Delaware 73, at #143 Northeastern 68 (Feb 7)
- 84.7% #312 Cal State-Bakersfield 55, at #84 California 52 (Dec 28)
- 81.9% #347 Central Connecticut 56, at #265 Hartford 47 (Dec 6)
- 80.3% #333 Marist 75, at #194 Canisius 67 (Feb 1)
- 80.0% #289 Nevada 64, at #92 UNLV 62 (Jan 7)
College Basketball Statistical Trends
- Scoring is down 5.5% (3.91 PPG). Possessions are down 2.7% (1.82 per team, per game). Points/possession are ALSO down 2.9% (1.042 to 1.012). Scoring is down, pace is down, and scoring efficiency is down. Not sure there’s much argument regardless how you calculate it.
- FGA are down 1.36 attempts per team, per game. FG% is down from 43.9% to 43.1%. Teams are missing out on just under one point per game based simply on missing more shots than last year.
- 3-ptM and 3-ptA are actually UP (ever so slightly) and up higher on a per possession basis. Teams are taking more 3’s and fewer 2’s, implying there is less ability to penetrate and possibly more zone being played.
- FTAs are down 2.34 per team, per game (10.4% per game, 7.9% per possession). Fouls are down just under 1 foul per team, per game (down 4.7%). FT% is down slightly as well (from 69.6% to 68.7%).
- Steals (up 2.1% per game and up 4.9% per possession) and turnovers (up 2.6% per game and up 5.4% per possession) are both up. The implication is still that slightly more plays that were reach-in fouls last year are steals/turnovers this year.
