Back-to-back champions. Downtown parade. A visit with legislators. Celebratory discounts at stores statewide. Connecticut rolled out the red carpet for the recent NCAA champions from Storrs.
And rightly so. In the 40 games since November, the UConn men’s basketball lost only three games, netting the highest winning percentage of any other men’s basketball Division I team in the nation at 92.5%. The runners-up didn’t even reach 90%.
And beyond the watercooler and dinner table discussions about how the Huskies got there, some of their dominance can be gleaned through data — the tracking of every pass, throw and steal in every second in every game.
Some analysts elevate their basketball analytics to statistical predictions and ratings, while others are mired in debate what metrics are best. But for the casual fan, here are another five charts to explain UConn’s continued dominance using NCAA data.
UConn had the biggest scoring margin
Over the course of 40 games, UConn scored 81.4 points per game on average, the 23rd-highest in the division. But to win championships, you also have to prevent your opponent from scoring. UConn ranked ninth on the average number of points scored against them at 63.4.
And the difference between those two, 18, is the biggest scoring margin of any team in the division.
UConn’s defense helped them widen the gap, despite their lower average points per game.
Huskies field goal percentage was fifth-best
Anytime the Huskies shot a ball, excluding free-throws, they made it nearly half of the time.
Of their 2,367 field goal attempts, 1,1177 went in, a 49.7% success rate, the fifth-highest field goal percentage in the season. None of the four teams with higher percentages exceeded 53%.
And of the 2,278 field goals attempted against the Huskies, not even 40% went in. This puts their rank at seventh in defensive field goal percentage. No other team ranked in the top 10 for both offensive and defensive field goal rates.
Of their 756 free-throw attempts, almost three-quarters, or 562, went in. Their 74.3% free-throw rate, which ranks 76th, was not far off from the top ranks, which peaked at 81%.
Most assists, fewer turnovers
A metric followed by some is the assist-to-turnover ratio, which is a comparison of the number of assists to the number of times they lose the ball while in possession. Those that use the metric argue that it gleans information on how helpful (assists) and careful (turnovers) a team is with the ball while they have it.
Turns out, UConn had the highest ratio this season, partly due to also having the highest number of assists this season at 748, ahead of Purdue at 720. This helped overcome their 383 turnovers, putting their ratio at 1.95.
Huskies earn their second chances
UConn had 38.8 rebounds per game on average. Their opponents, on average, had about 30 rebounds per game. Their rebound margin of 8.7 points was tied for fifth-highest in the division.