Listern to: Ken Pomeroy on College Basketball Analytics

I love kenpom.com website, I have a subscription, so I was eager to hear how he went from meterology (another one!) to data analytics and sports. His site is now my go-to for NCAA college basketball analysis.

I won't be a show-spoiler by giving the answers, it's a solid podcast for numbers crunchers and/or sports junkies. You don't have to be anchored to a favorite sport to get valuable insights.

from the powerrank.com
https://thepowerrank.com/2020/02/20/podcast-ken-pomeroy-on-college-basketball-analytics/

On this episode of The Football Analytics Show, I’m joined by Ken Pomeroy, college basketball analytics guru. In addition to his site kenpom.com, his work has been featured on The Athletic, ESPN and Deadspin.

Among other topics, we discuss:

• How his college basketball rankings and predictions work (2:48)
• The surprising statistic he uses to calculate home court for each team – no, it’s not points (6:15)
• Ken’s favorite study among all that he has done on college basketball analytics (11:06)
• Is the pack line defense of Tony Bennett and Virginia behind the times? (13:39)
• Can a mid-major like Dayton or San Diego State win the tournament? (15:46)
• Can Michigan State make a run in this tournament? (17:43)
• The two numbers to look at to determine whether a player is over or underperforming his skill as a 3 point shooter (20:32)
• The conference that has befuddled his numbers the most (22:29)
• I ended the show by asking my usual question about what you would bring if you were kidnapped for a year. This led to a fascinating conversation on our society (25:26).

To listen here, click on the right pointing triangle.

Game Summary Project

If I were an actual sportswriter, this is how I would write a story. But I'm just a blogger, so...

Game Summary:

Hot-shooting Ospreys Cap Hatters, 97-91 

Feb 3, 2018 – Charles Slavik

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The UNF Ospreys shot a blistering 63.5% from the field and 56.3% from behind the 3-point arc and Wajid Aminu and Noah Horchler both contributed double-doubles in a 97-91 victory over Stetson Saturday night at UNF Arena.

Aminu scored 20 points and corralled 13 rebounds, both season highs for him, and Horchler tickled the twine for 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, an ASUN high. 

JT Escobar added 19 points, with 3 treys and 8-8 from the charity stripe, and Ivan Gandia-Rosa guided the offense with 8 assists while adding 16 points, thrilling the 2,001 fans in attendance. The victory completed a season sweep and the third straight victory over the Hatters. 

UNF (11-15, 5-4 ASUN) went on a 14-2 run with the score tied 21-21 at the 12:13 mark in the first half to build a lead over the Hatters (10-16, 2-7 ASUN) that they would not relinquish.  The Hatters did not get closer than two points the rest of the way. 

UNF dominated the rebounding battle 38-22 countering the Hatters aggressive defense that produced a 17-4 turnover and 10-1 advantage in steals. The Hatters had two players score 20-plus points led by Divine Myles with 24 and Luke Doyle with 20. 

After the game Coach Driscoll said “It is amazing to see these guys continue to grow, continue to learn and continue to persevere. Most importantly it was great to see that resiliency again to finish that one, though not as cleanly as we would have liked. To go 22-29 from the free throw line and shoot 64% from the field was nice to see.” 

UNF's next two games are on the road against Kennesaw State (Feb. 8) and Lipscomb (Feb. 10) 

'via Blog this'

This graphic shows why we have our educational priorities misplaced

I would say the same the same thing if the baseball coach was the highest paid employee in all 50 states.

This is just messed up. Plain and simple. I understand that some of the money comes from the unbelievable revenues the sports generate, but my goodness, here we could share the wealth a little bit better.

Maybe make the lot of some the athletes a little bit better. Or help out some of the so-called minor sports a bit  more. Liberals and the OWS crowd carp endlessly about income inequality and this is the best they can do within the heartland of liberalism / socialism that dominates the halls of academia. Do as I say, not as I do.

It's embarrassing regardless of who is at fault.

from Deadspin:
Infographic: Is Your State's Highest-Paid Employee A Coach? (Probably):

You may have heard that the highest-paid employee in each state is usually the football coach at the largest state school. This is actually a gross mischaracterization: Sometimes it is the basketball coach.

Based on data drawn from media reports and state salary databases, the ranks of the highest-paid active public employees include 27 football coaches, 13 basketball coaches, one hockey coach, and 10 dorks who aren't even in charge of a team.

'via Blog this'