WBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[RogK]

Seven matchups are not scheduled : AUG vs CTG, CRL vs MIL, CRL vs NCC, CTG vs IWU, ELM vs NCC, IWU vs WHE, MIL vs NPU
Four matchups are scheduled for one game : AUG vs ELM, AUG vs WHE, ELM vs NPU, NPU vs WHE
The other 25 matchups are set for two games.

[Gregory Sager]

The women's and men's basketball schedules are fully mirrored this season -- i.e., School A's men are at School B's men on the same day that School B's women are at School A's women -- which redounds to the advantage of those of us who are working the games.

(I've always wanted to use "redounds" in a basketball post. )

Competitively speaking, this is an unfortunate year for NPU and Millikin not to be playing each other.

[iwu70]

Anyone want to take a crack at a pre-season poll for WBB in the CCIW?

Sure hope we can have some kind of season, esp. for the seniors.  IWU has some good ones, some players I really want to watch.. 

Top three -- IWU, MU and NPU?   

Stay safe and well.

'70

[iwu70]

Looks like a season of some sort may happen.  Let's hope so.  All CCIW, 12 game schedule posted on the IWU site. 

For IWU, lots of returning talent, though surely missing the tough, the reliable Sydney Shanks.

Looks like this to me:

Sosa
Brovelli
Munroe
Lansford

All these for sure, if healthy.

Then in the rotation, depending on the situation and opposition:

Heller
Bowen
Lowis
Eck

with perhaps Hannah Smith subbing for Brovelli for some minutes.

Don't know about any of the freshmen getting time in the rotation.

IWU will be strong, likely a contender for the CCIW championship this year.

Very much looking forward to watching Kendall Sosa do her thing again this year . . . and to seeing what improvements there are from the other returning starters and key players, esp. a healthy Katie Eck.  Many of these players now with a lot of varsity experience.  A nice mix, with plenty of possibilities.

In Coach Mia Smith we trust . . .

Should be good, should be fun.

'70

[RogK]

Catie.

[iwu70]

Thanks, RogK. 

Yes, Catie.  My bad.  I'm still trying to figure out Cory Koon or Kory Coon?  LOL  Leaving aside Keelan Amelianovich?  Please forgive.

I do know Catie and all the others . . . and I'm sure she'd forgive me. 




'70

[RogK]

And I'm pretty sure you had Hannah Smith's first name spelled backwards!

[Gregory Sager]

And we won't even mention her brothers Bob and Otto and her sisters Eve, Elle, and Ada.

[iwu70]

Woe is me on Hannah . . .or is it hannaH??

Seems IWU went to WC for a scrimmage?   Anyone have details?

Looking forward to games soon.  Covid, please stay away . . .

'70

[Ultimate Titan Fan]

No details, but I saw the photos on Facebook.  One of the Titans was in a hinged knee brace. Looked like a nasty injury.  But with the facemask, I couldn't tell who it was.

[RogK]

Hey Greg, what do you think of this very minor modification of your webcasts --
when going over the 1st half stats right before starting the 3rd quarter, could you separately list the points each team has scored via 3FGs, 2FGs and FTs?
Such info would provide clarity about how a team accomplished whatever it accomplished.
On Saturday, you could note that in the 1st half, North Central scored 18 via threes, 22 via twos and 7 via free throws. Don't worry about that 47 point output, as North Park will have 52.
I'm trying to make your work more difficult, but only slightly.

[Gregory Sager]

I find that it's more useful to give the percentages and the shooting numbers (makes-attempts). Just telling how many points were scored by each of the three methods doesn't really give you any indication of their rates of success, or how heavily they were utilizing each particular scoring method.

To use your example, NCC could go:

17-32 (.531) overall
6-10 (.600) trey
7-8 (.875) free throws

... to get to that total, or the Cards could go:

17-40 (.425) overall
6-18 (.333) trey
7-14 (.500) free throws

... to get to those same scoring totals. But they're not identical halves -- they're wildly different, so merely quoting scoring numbers tells you nothing about the type of half that North Central played. (Or North Park, for that matter; if the Cardinals put together a half like the second example, you know full well that Amanda Crockett will be giving her team an earful in the NPU locker room at halftime about how badly they're getting outrebounded and/or how they're not protecting the ball, but if the Cards play like the first example, Amanda will be preaching better defense to the Vikes at halftime.)

I don't see any utility at all in focusing upon two-point field goal statistics. Unlike free throws and trey attempts, which are homogenous statistical sets (or, in the case of trey attempts, at least roughly so) because they're both defined by the fixed parameter of distance from the basket, two-point field goal attempts are wildly disparate. You're talking about a statistical category that includes layups, tip-ins, putbacks, bunnies, midrange shots, coach-will-bench-me-if-I-keep-taking-these shots, and oops-my-toe-is-on-the-arc shots. Again, focusing on that number wouldn't help you distinguish between a team that couldn't make a jumpshot if its life depended on it, yet is cleaning up in the paint with penetration layups and/or post-up success, and a team that can't make a layup (or even get close enough to the basket to attempt one) but is getting into the lane and hitting midrange Js, or between a team that's shooting lights-out and a team that has missed a whole bunch of shots but is effectively attacking the O-boards and is thus taking out the garbage with tip-ins and putbacks.

I think that reciting stats on the air should paint a picture of how the team is playing (or has played) the game, rather than just compiling the game's so-called "counting stats" for scoring. Counting stats are fine for individual performances, but as stand-alones they're a lot less descriptive than percentages and makes-and-attempts numbers where the team's concerned.

[RogK]

Thanks for your extensive thoughts on the subject!
I recall the discussion from a few years ago wherein we talked about defining what a possession is : whether an o-reb extends a possession or starts a new one. Recording the number of possessions happens in D1 I think, but D3 doesn't have that capacity as far as I know.
I like the "o-reb extends a possession" definition; using that strict definition, points per possession is the best measure of team defense or offense. Points per game ignores the pace, so a team that uses up the shot clock on offense can reduce the opponent's possessions and scoring. Or, a team that hurries on offense can score more, but not necessarily efficiently.
I'd like others to join in on this topic if they agree with me. 

[RogK]

Here's an example of the statistical detail found in D1 : (viewed best on a proper computer screen / monitor; please don't bother looking at it on a phone)
https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:f57ff52c-2e33-4194-9ce8-b85ec0fbabc7#pageNum=1
If that link doesn't work, try clicking on "Game Book" for the Incarnate Word game here :
https://utepminers.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
Hopefully we are then on a 27 page report; scroll down to page 20 where the shot charts begin.
The final few pages are called "Rotation Summary" where numbers are broken down based on the different groups of five that played together.
Remarkable data.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Those type of stats are showing up more and more in DIII as well. It is part of the new stats platform the NCAA has gotten with a partnership with Genius Sports. Many of the old-school StatCrew people are still having to be enticed to go to the new platform - and not all websites and such handle the incredible detail it can provide - but it is coming.

That all said, trying to relay all those details especially without visual aids is a tall task. People can't comprehend all of those nuances without seeing it as well.

Try and keep the broadcast simple to relay what is going on without spending ten minutes talking about tiny details