Measuring Statistics: Near and Far

Stats can be deceiving, or that's what they say. 

I have a few thoughts on SDSU's men's players and how they play at home and away. 

For example, I figured Chad White is a better player at home than on the road, while all-world Nate Wolters plays better on the road. Where is Jordan Dykstra a better player?

So, let's go to the stats. I selected SDSU's home, away and neutral location games, along with games where SDSU won or lost. Players with significant playing time are listed here.

All information is from the always reliable sports-reference.com. Go visit their sites. Sorry about the small print. 

3 Wolters, Nate 

Split            Value  G  MP  FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P%  FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Place             Home 12 438  78 164 .476 22  57 .386  71  90  .789  11  54  65  66  27   2  31 16 249
                  Road 12 466 104 206 .505 32  71 .451  69  81  .852  18  54  72  59  16   2  27 22 309
               Neutral  2  64  12  25 .480  2   6 .333   8  11  .727   2   7   9  16   3   0   1  3  34

Split            Value  G  MP  FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P%  FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Result             Win 20 734 140 290 .483 41 102 .402 115 144  .799  21  88 109 117  40   4  46 27 436
                  Loss  6 234  54 105 .514 15  32 .469  33  38  .868  10  27  37  24   6   0  13 14 156 

5 Prince, Taevaunn 

Split            Value  G  MP FG FGA   FG% 3P 3PA  3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Place             Home 11 144 13  35  .371  0   4 .000 21  28  .750  11  12  23   3   4   0   6 10  47
                  Road  9 127 10  33  .303  2   9 .222 11  18  .611   8   8  16   5   3   0  11 22  33
               Neutral  2  60  7  19  .368  1   4 .250  5   9  .556   4   7  11   3   1   0   2  5  20 

12 Carlson, Brayden

Split            Value  G  MP FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Place             Home 13 422 28  83 .337 14  47 .298 30  39  .769   5  42  47  31  13   4   9 20 100
                  Road 13 466 42 103 .408 20  60 .333 15  22  .682   6  41  47  30  10   4  17 24 119
               Neutral  2  62  9  19 .474  6  11 .545  5   6  .833   0   6   6   7   1   0   1  4  29
Split            Value  G  MP FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Result             Win 21 694 55 137 .401 29  78 .372 39  51  .765   8  72  80  53  19   5  17 35 178
                  Loss  7 256 24  68 .353 11  40 .275 11  16  .688   3  17  20  15   5   3  10 13  70  

25 White, Chad 

Split            Value  G  MP FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Place             Home 10 310 35  71 .493 22  47 .468 10  14  .714   8  26  34  16   8   3  13 20 102
                  Road 11 340 28  81 .346 18  59 .305  9  13  .692   8  32  40  10   5   6  14 24  83
               Neutral  2  46  8  15 .533  4   7 .571  2   2 1.000   3   3   6   4   1   1   1  2  22
Split            Value  G  MP FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Result             Win 17 514 60 127 .472 36  80 .450 18  23  .783  15  47  62  26  12   6  21 30 174
                  Loss  6 182 11  40 .275  8  33 .242  3   6  .500   4  14  18   4   2   4   7 16  33 

32 Heemstra, Marcus 

Split            Value  G  MP FG FGA   FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Place             Home 13 154 19  37  .514  0   0     11  14  .786  14  23  37  12   4   6   9 24  49
                  Road 13 148 14  28  .500  0   0     11  12  .917  13  20  33  11   3   5  10 20  39
               Neutral  2  31  9  11  .818  0   0      2   3  .667   7   4  11   2   2   2   0  2  20

34 Fiegen, Tony 

Split            Value  G  MP  FG FGA   FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Place             Home 13 396  67 109  .615  0   0     20  32  .625  35  45  80  20   6   3  16 23 154
                  Road 13 431  48 103  .466  0   0     16  23  .696  22  44  66  17   6   4  16 23 112
               Neutral  2  34   6   8  .750  0   0      0   0         1   9  10   3   0   0   4  4  12
Split            Value  G  MP  FG FGA   FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Result             Win 21 626  96 164  .585  0   0     30  45  .667  47  80 127  35   9   4  25 38 222
                  Loss  7 235  25  56  .446  0   0      6  10  .600  11  18  29   5   3   3  11 12  56 

42 Dykstra, Jordan

Split            Value  G  MP  FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Place             Home 13 417  67 142 .472 24  45 .533 39  52  .750  28  88 116  23   6   9  26 32 197
                  Road 13 415  49 119 .412 20  53 .377 18  22  .818  26  60  86  14  10   9  28 36 136
               Neutral  2  52   6  14 .429  2   5 .400  1   2  .500   1  10  11   4   0   0   0  4  15
Split            Value  G  MP  FG FGA  FG% 3P 3PA  3P% FT FTA   FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
Result             Win 21 657 100 211 .474 38  78 .487 46  63  .730  35 131 166  35  11  12  41 56 284
                  Loss  7 227  22  64 .344  8  25 .320 12  13  .923  20  27  47   6   5   6  13 16  64

--

The takeaways: 

• Look at the difference in the performances from Dykstra and White in losses. 

• Granted, SDSU lost those games for reasons that go beyond those two but it shows how 

   important those two are to the operation.

• Fiegen is a much better shooter at home, converting 15 percent more shots in home games. 

• Heemstra is scary consistent in his game. This is a good sign going forward for SDSU. 

• Carlson has better numbers in road games and even better in the two neutral games this year. He has

  14 games this year where he's scored 10 or more points and five of those have come in Brookings. 

• Wolters' numbers are pretty nuts in both losses and on the road, shooting 29 percent better away from Frost. 

Sometimes your hunch can lead to something after all. 

--
High frequency of basketball posts because there's lots to talk about. If you have an idea, drop me a line in the various mediums to reach a 21-year old college kid. 

Crowdsourcing with students

Eat crow, Traxler.

I might have to do that with regards to my previous comments about the student section relocation at Frost Arena. In a crucial conference game at Frost Saturday against Western Illinois, the students made a difference. That was the word when students were moved from their better (I don't think anyone can argue this) to behind the baskets on each end.

WIU, who normally shoot 65 percent at the free throw stripe as a team, went 3-of-11 from the line against the Jacks.

"That’s one of our weaknesses," Leatherneck head coach Jim Molinari said. "We shoot a good percentage as a team but we’re not a great shooting team. That's something we need to be better at."

I feel this was mainly because of the students, who would either all jump forward as the player was shooting the free throws or sit down at the same time. It worked. Either that or the Leathernecks suck at free throws. Both are theories.

This much I know: No team has shot that poorly against SDSU over the last 12 seasons and that's all the farther the records go.

But how much of a difference have the students made on the free throws this year? Let's go to the grid.

There's the last two seasons worth of home games at Frost Arena and the free throw shooting of SDSU's opponents. The 2012-13 shooting is a blip better than than last year and while the end of the season (when the students got more involved with the free throw distractions) are low, the numbers don't show a ton of difference. SDSU allowed far less free throw attempts in 2012-13, however.

Hats off, students. You did what college kids should do. I'll be impressed if it happens next season as well and more importantly, what kind of student turnout is in Sioux Falls. It's not over Spring Break this year, so I'm expecting a lot. 

I think the move has worked out fine and students have responded positively but I HATED the way it was done. Basically, the administration said, "We're moving you. If you don't like it, too bad."

The point I brought up on The Sports Lounge show Monday(which can be listened to on demand here) is that SDSU might want to consider moving its "renovate Frost Arena" plans up in the grand scheme. Honestly, maybe ahead of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

There's no doubt that CAS needs to be rebuilt but if the Jackrabbits want to reach the next level as a mid-major, they need the budget and the facilities to do it. Frost may not need more seats but they certainly need more good seats, as many of the wood bleachers are at tough viewing angles.

A lot of elements added up to get three sellouts in Brookings this season, mainly No. 3 at point guard. But the program is only going to grow and, if nothing else, both facilities should be worked on at the same time.

--

It's hard not to think about the Summit League tournament, especially when there's a local media ad for the four-day dance airing every three minutes. In advance, I wrote this for the Sports Lounge blog earlier today about what sort of tourney is shaping up. 

For much of the season, the race to become the Summit League’s top dog has been cloudy. However, I have looked at the crystal ball and the future is becoming clearer.

SDSU’s men’s basketball team is the team to beat when the conference converges on Sioux Falls in March for the Summit League tournament.

There’s a lot of candidates — and honestly, who would have thought there would be four legitimate teams challenging for the conference title when the season started — but the Jackrabbits have emerged as the odds-on favorite.

Sure, there have been a fair amount bumps along the way. Those ugly performances the Jacks had in December seem so far away and even in last weekend’s loss to Oakland at the O’rena, SDSU looked like a team that could be in the field of 68 again.

But as Brett Favre famously said during the Vikings’ 2009 season, “the pieces are in place.”

Their defense (more on this later) has been quite good, the Jacks are a strong three-point shooting team (especially at home) and SDSU has the best player in Nate Wolters, who is taking over games once again.

Of course, one of the biggest parts of the Jacks chances’ is having a decidedly home court advantage in Sioux Falls. In each of their games (regardless of opponent), there will be at least 5,000 people screaming in their favor and riding each up and down. To me, this is the biggest part for the Jacks. Western Illinois has seen this atmosphere twice now — last season’s conference title game and Saturday at Frost Arena.

“You can’t win a game in this atmosphere unless you play perfect basketball,” Molinari said after the Leathernecks’ loss at Frost Arena.

Molinari said something almost exactly like this after his team lost in the championship game last year. It stuck out like a sore thumb because I believe the quotes were so similar.

“This was a road game,” WIU head coach Jim Molinari said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making excuses. But I think you have to be 10 points better to win here and we weren’t tonight. I knew because of the crowd that they would never let the game get away from them.”

Ah, yes. There it is.

Western Illinois is just a good team, said SDSU head coach Scott Nagy. He’s right. Summit Leaguers like to stress WIU’s defense but they are good on offense and have pretty talented players like Ceola Clark III and Terrell Parks underneath the hoop.

Nagy said he stressed that the Feb. 16 game wasn’t the conference championship but I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘Necks and Jacks play for the title March 12 in Sioux Falls. That’s my pick for now.
We are two weeks away from knowing the seeds but it’s hard not to look ahead. So, as for the rest of the tournament …

North Dakota State is a confusing bunch right now. They posted 36 points against Western in a loss but have effectively defeated everyone else they’ve needed to beat and convincingly. They have a defensive style that is similar to WIU and can effectively stop teams. I can’t get away from the fact that they have been an early out from the tournament in the last three seasons. The X-factor remains to be Marshall Bjorklund, who still leads the country in field goal percentage but the Jackrabbits and Leathernecks have effectively shut him down in the two most recents meetings. He had four points on five shots against Western and four points against SDSU in late January. Since scoring 23 points against USD Jan. 3 (a game where he shot 11/13 from the field), he’s had nearly as many games in single-digits scoring (5) as he has in double digits (7). Maybe Taylor Braun is the difference but Drue and I agree that the problems seem to go further than the return of Braun.

Oakland is certainly capable of winning the tournament but there’s a few things standing in their way: 1. They don’t exactly play great defense. That’s not new. 2. They are far too reliant on Travis Bader and their three-point shooting.

This is actually the big one. Oakland has good players, including Corey Petros underneath the basket but I don’t feel like they have been utilized as much as possible. Considering Drew Valentine’s profile two seasons ago in the Summit League, he has been as quiet as anyone as a junior or senior. As Bader goes, so go the Grizz.

Depending on crowd turnout, USD could be a semifinal candidate and for sheer interest and atmosphere’s-sake, I hope they are in the final four. Say what you will about the Coyotes (and as a student at the Brookings school, I hear plenty of people say bad things about them), it would be great to have them win a game at the tournament. That would increase interest in the 2014 tournament, in my opinion and show the red fans what the event is really about.

I would also laugh if Kansas City makes a run for the finals, considering they are leaving the league for a trash heap and it would show that they can win in the conference. They’ll be out right away, though. It’s a bad year for Omaha to be out. They would be in the 4/5 game if they were eligible.

Defense

Our friend Travis Kriens always digs up the stats. He says the Jacks have been giving up 65.1 points per game, the lowest average since 1984-85, when the Jackrabbits allowed 64.4 PPG. Over the last 58 seasons of SDSU basketball, it is the second-lowest PPG allowed season average.
He says the defense story hasn’t received the coverage it should, so here’s some coverage, Travis.

Naters Gonna Nate, Part 542

I thought everything had basically been accomplished by SDSU point guard Nate Wolters.

I was wrong. Very wrong.

After a career-high, school-record and NCAA season-high 53 points Thursday against Fort Wayne in a 80-74 win, he's basically proved that the rest of the season is his for the taking.

I'll let the SDSU game recap take some of the details here:

Wolters scored 38 of his points in the second half, one more than the entire IPFW team, finishing the night 17-of-28 shooting overall, 9-of-14 from 3-point range and 10-of-11 from the free throw line.

"They were sagging off of me and my felt pretty good tonight, I was able to knock a couple down and just got into a little bit of a rhythm," Wolters said. "It's a good accomplishment, but it's a big win for us, we had to have it. We knew that they were gonna come out and play hard, they played tough, but we were able to put together a big second half and pull away."

The 53 points not only tops his previous career-high of 36, but breaks the SDSU single-game mark of 44 points, set by Dave Thomas against Coe College on March 10, 1973. His nine 3-pointers tops his previous high of five, set in the season-opener at Alabama, and breaks the SDSU mark of eight, a mark set by Jason Sempsrott on Jan. 12, 1996 vs. North Dakota State, and by Randy Suarez against Augustana on Feb. 7, 1987.

Of course, he's good but the ability to just take over is a skill that few players have. Fort Wayne is one of those places where the building is pretty dead and he made his performance count on a night when the Jacks needed it badly. I'll be curious to see what happens at Oakland Saturday in a must-win ballgame. But as Wolters put it, every game has been a must-win since about mid-December. The Jacks share 1st place with Western Illinois after a three-point loss for NDSU against the Golden Grizzlies tonight.

Earlier this year, I said that I didn't think he would score in bunches at home on a Collegian postgame video. I was wrong because he went for 29 the next game but tonight validates the claim some because I did say that he would have his big games on the road. This will qualify there. At the end of the day, the Jacks need him more on the road because they play much better as a unit at home. 

Wolters is one of two reasons SDSU is the favorite to get back to the NCAA Tournament, along with having the Summit League tournament in Sioux Falls. I would have to say that he gives the Jackrabbits a great chance of getting a win in the Big Dance. He's that good but I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know.

Some of the media from tonight. Check it out as well:

Nate Wolters erupts for 53 points, most by any Division I player this season (Yahoo).

South Dakota State's Nate Wolters scores 53, highest total this season  (ESPN)

Night Court: Nate Wolters gives CBB most points in a game since '09 (CBSSports.com)

Goodbye, 'Roos.

I was going to lead with this but Nate Wolters did his thing, so the Kansas City to the Western Athletic Conference gets bumped. The Kangaroos will be out of the Summit after this year. There's a lot of facets to this, so we'll get to this in bulletpoints.

• At best, this is a lateral move. There's only one way to buy this and that's if the Kangaroos were the third or fourth best basketball team in the conference and were consistently on the cusp of making it to the NCAA Tournament. That's just not the case because their men's basketball program, which should be marquee program for a non-football school, is awful and poorly-managed. 
• Obviously, UMKC has a tough time reading the tea leaves here. Of the nine current members in the conference, SEVEN are leaving the WAC by July 1, 2014. There's a reason everyone else is leaving and they clearly don't see it the same way everyone else does. Denver just left the conference. Was nobody in Kansas City paying attention?
• What's left is not Murderer's Row: California State University, Bakersfield; Chicago State University; Grand Canyon University; New Mexico State University; Seattle University, The University of Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley University.
• The WAC is not anymore of an airplane league than the Summit. Let me know if you find any cheap flights to Las Cruces, N.M.
• They are centrally-located in the Summit. The Kangaroos will be the second-most eastern school in the WAC now. More proof geography doesn't matter anymore in conference realignment.
• How does UMKC not address the media with a press conference today. They really don't know what they're doing, do they?
• People need to get over this idea that the Summit is just garbage as a basketball league. It's not spectacular but it's not like it's high Division II either. See the Wolters notes above. Frank Gaines, Travis Bader, Ceola Clark III, Marshall Bjorklund are all great players. I know that Denver is decent this year (Ha, they're coming to the Summit, New Mexico State made The Dance last year and Utah State is usually good.) Two of those teams are leaving and NMSU will try to get out at any moment. Perception is everything and people will likely see that the WAC is a fraud, far from where it was years ago.
• I would be surprised if the Summit disintegrates, which is what is posed here by Kansas City Star writer Blair Kerkhoff. Certainly, Oakland to the Horizon is a real possibility. As it stands, it doesn't make sense for Omaha to leave the Summit right now because they are in the I-29 pact with the Dakota schools. Also, I don't buy that the WAC is looking at SIU-Edwardsville either. 
• Also thrown out there is SDSU and NDSU looking at the Missouri Valley. That is probably a dream scenario for NDSU for sure but SDSU has a lot going for them in the Summit. The conference tourney is in their backyard and they are having great success. The Valley is a basketball league for sure. However, if the offer is there (it's clearly a step up), how do you turn it down? This would only happen with moves by Creighton and Evansville to the Catholic 7 and the Horizon, respectively.

Lots to chew on there. 

One last time

I'll be heading to St. Cloud Friday for the final WCHA regular season series between St. Cloud State and Minnesota for the weekend showdown, which should be a great series. The Huskies are No. 1 in the conference and the Gophers are No. 3 but it's the Maroon and Gold are No. 1 in the Pairwise rankings (which basically decide who gets into the NCAA Tournament) in what is the final season for college hockey's best league as we know it. I'll miss it and I will probably wax poetic about the WCHA on Monday. 

Dunk Time

The "Buy Marcus a New Camera Fund" drive is over and I now own a new camera. I've played around with it and I've shot a few games but I captured a cool sequence Thursday night.

I'm thankful to Chad White for doing this to a poor Dakota State big man.

Frost Arena Fallacies

*I’ll keep this short because it’s Finals Week and this is a terrible time for me to be addressing this in a ungraded blog post but I feel this is worth the time.

I’ve made my point pretty clear over the past few days about how I feel regarding the SDSU athletic department’s decision to move student seating for basketball games at Frost Arena from the sidelines to both ends. If you want a refresher, check out my Twitter page.

You won't see SDSU's student section like this anymore.

I’ll start right there. I don’t think that it’s a very good idea to split what has become one of the best student sections in the Summit League. Two smaller groups located on each end will not be as impactful as the one solid contingent that occupied the sideline in prior seasons. I point to one of the most anticipated Summit League regular season games the SDSU men’s team has ever played earlier this season when the Jackrabbits hosted Oral Roberts. The students were on their game for this one, with the venom clearly directed at the conference leading Golden Eagles. Mind you, not a nearby rival but a team that has asserted themselves as a pesky foe in the conference because of ability, not proximity.

The students relentlessly badgered coach Scott Sutton and did the same with the players, most notably Dominque Morrison when he fouled out with four minutes or so left in the game. He marched over to the sideline, raising the collar of his T-shirt to his chin and let out a breath of frustration combined with exhaustion. The students were going after him for his signature hair and, more importantly, the fact that he was a good player.

Student sections are strong because they are cohesive and can work together. The best or most creative cheers don’t come from the cheerleaders. With the two end setup, SDSU’s student section will be anything but cohesive.

As for the money side of it, I get that season-ticket holders are the guaranteed money in sports. You have to have them and SDSU, coming off a run to the NCAA Tournament, has an absolutely golden opportunity to capitalize on that by selling more season tickets. On a personal front, SDSU could create some demand for tickets, which wouldn’t be that bad of a thing. I realize that an upgrade in reserved seating is needed because there are some real duds for seats in the arena, especially in the reserved corner sections. That said, you jeopardize your rapport with students by moving them.

According to a report from the Board of Regents, 19 percent ($2.3m of $11.9m) of SDSU’s athletic budget in Fiscal Year 2011 came from the General Activity Fund, which is driven by student fees. In FY 2010, student fees made up 21 percent ($2.4m of $11.3m) of the schools athletic income. For this semester, the GAF fee per credit was $24.95. Multiply that by 15 for the average student load per term. It’s important to note that the fee also funds the Students’ Association budget, helps fund the Wellness Center, etc. The fee will likely go up $1 in either 2012-13 or 2013-14 to help pay for The Union expansion and the current proposal to add the addition onto the Wellness Center would include a $4 increase in student fees. As you can see, this is adding up. (For reference, USD’s activity fee is $36 a credit hour.)

Of course, not every student goes to games. Some will never watch Nate Wolters dribble a basketball or watch Kelli Fiegen put down a kill or Austin Sumner throw a touchdown pass. (But that issue is a different subject.)

It is student dollars, which they have no control over because it’s not optional and the fees are something that have been around forever. However, on the reports for FY10 and FY11, only “General Funds” bring in more money to the department coffers. Not gate receipts or guaranteed money or donations. Then, the student money that accounts for roughly 20 percent of the overall budget looms large.

Back to the actual seating choice, the argument that seats on the end are just as good as the seats on the side of the court is absolute baloney. Look at the seating chart map for any professional, semi-professional or college basketball team that has seating on all four sides of the court. None of those parties charge the same rate for seats at midcourt in the 10th row as they do for seats behind the basket in the 10th row. Why? Because those seats are not the same. It’s the same reason why a seat on the 50-yard line is more expensive than a seat in the endzone at a football game.

Because of the way that Frost Arena is setup, it really is like real estate: All about the location. The student section was prime real estate to be bought out by season-ticket holders.

And is this about the money? Of course it is. This is college sports. Yes, blaming the money is the easy answer but it’s easy because it’s true. If money didn’t matter, nobody gets moved, everyone remains happy and I’m not writing this post. We know why I am.

If the athletic department values season tickets and donations, they should try looking at it like this: Students, at the beginning of each semester make donations — some knowingly and most unknowingly — to tennis and golf and soccer and equestrian. They make donations to swimming and diving and cross country and to softball. Students also donate to football and basketball and they are consistent in their donations from year-to-year.

I hope that the athletic department doesn’t take student money for granted because students are more than just a card swipe at the gate.

I also want to make clear that the Students' Association missed on this one. They had a clear chance to stand up for student seating and instead they nodded their heads and went along with this. Not exactly what you have in mind when you vote for your leaders. They probably wouldn't have been able to stop the change but at least put up a fight.

I’m not sure why I’m getting worked up about this. First, the decision has been made and with the end of semester here, there is not going to be student opposition. The seats will be done for volleyball season. I still stand by my original plan: If you’re going to move the students, move them to one end. That would keep them together as a unit, not split the group up and the group still can look imposing.

I’ve never watched a basketball game from the stands because I’ve always watched from press row. Sitting there, I would think to myself that students have pretty good seats too, all things considered.

I can’t say that anymore.


*This did not end up being a short post.

Turning Over the Turnover Problem

I've started to dabble in looking at the possession-based statistics for both SDSU basketball teams and I'll share a few of the findings over the next week in preparation for the Summit League Tournament, starting March 3.

There have been a few trends that I have caught but the one I would like to focus on today is turnovers. Simply, both teams have vastly improved their ability to protect the ball since the beginning of the season. Feel free to attribute some of the season's second half success to playing Summit League teams but the Jacks have been consistently better.


The men's chart is on the left; women's on the right. (The first column is the number of scoring possessions or number of possessions that resulted in at least one point. The second is turnovers and third is turnover rate, which is the number of possessions that resulted in a turnover.)

 



The men have been better at taking care of the ball longer but they have made considerable progress in their ability to take care of the ball since Summit League play has started. To regularly be in the single-digits when it comes to turnovers is quite impressive. Of note, SDSU enters Thursday night's game against Western Illinois ranked 12th in turnovers per game, 17th in assist-turnover ratio and 38th in turnover margin nationally. It helps to have a top point guard who is an assist machine and appears to be allergic to turnovers at times in Nate Wolters. The standout performance is likely the one that everyone has pointed to this year when SDSU had five turnovers in their dominating win over Washington in December, with last week's pants-ing (courtesy of Travis Kriens) of NDSU not far behind.

I've long been critical of the way that the women's team turns the ball over, most notably the 38 turnovers last year ago at Middle Tennessee State. Even early in the season the squad had trouble taking care of the ball but things have changed. The Jackrabbits have still had issues against high-pressure teams like UMKC and Oral Roberts but for the most part, SDSU has improved its ball security. (With those two teams in the No. 2 and No. 3 seed slots for the Summit Tourney, that will be something to watch. SDSU has to take care of the ball against those teams.) Much like the rest of the Jacks' game, some of their best numbers in the turnover department have come against NDSU. More consistency at the point guard spot through Jill Young and Gabby Boever has helped the Jackrabbits decrease the one flaw in their otherwise solid game.

One more nugget: The SDSU women average 69.89 possessions a game for the season or 69.9 for short. That is the exact average number of possessions in a game for college basketball. For a team that likes to run, the numbers bear out that the Jackrabbits are pretty average when it comes to pace of play.