Stats Definitions and Tips
Click on any of the drop down's to read more about a stat.
Number of Tourney Wins
REMEMBER: THIS STAT CANNOT BE USED IN YOUR FORMULA. This is the stat you are trying to find with your algorithm. In previous years, this represents how many wins a team got in the March Madness tournament of that year. Filter this stat from highest to lowest to see what the successful teams did well.
Seed
Although we have removed this stat from the competition, teams are seeded according to how good they did in the regular season, where 1 is the best and 16 is the worst.
Cinderella
A team with a 1 in this column are those who are a seed 9-16. Having a cinderella team get a win is 5 bonus points for a first round win, 10 points for second round win, 15, 20, 25... However, they are not expected to win in the first round, and each round after that is an even lesser chance. High risk, high reward.
Conference
The conference is the smaller league of teams that a team will play for most of the season. They are loosely based on school size and geography. The top teams are usually a part of one of the "Power 6" conferences: ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 12, and SEC. However, teams from other conferences do find success from time to time.
Region
The bracket is divided into 4 regions with 16 teams each. All regions are weighted equal, but this stat can be used to diversify your picks (i.e. you do not want your teams to beat each other, so utilizing all four regions will spread out your picks).
Conference Tourney Champion
A 1 in this column means a team won their conference tournament at the end of the season. Having this means a team is at the top of their conference, and is on a hot streak. However, many cinderella teams got into the tournament for winning the championship of a smaller conference, so keep that in mind.
Made Tourney Previous Year
A 1 in this column means that the team made the March Madness tournament the year before. Teams with tradition and experience at the tournament tend to see success!
Game Count
The number of games a team played in the regular season. Although this stat does not define success, this number can be used to find averages and percentages.
Wins
Number of wins a team had in the regular season. Remember cinderella teams tend to have a lot of wins as well as the top teams, so use this stat wisely.
Losses
Number of losses a team had in the regular season. Just like with wins, remember that a lot of cinderella teams did not lose very many games, so use appropriately.
3-Pointers Made
Number of 3-point shots a team made during the season. In today's world of basketball, three pointers are very common and important.
3-Pointers Attempted
Number of 3-point shots taken that season.
3-Point Percentage %
The percentage of 3-point shots that a team made (makes / attempts). This stat focuses on how well a team shoots 3-pointers, as it can be teams who shoot a lot and teams who do not shoot many.
Free Throws Made
Number of free throws a team made that season. A high number of free throws made means a team is aggressive, and basketball teams strive for more "free" points than their opponent.
Free Throws Attempted
Number of free throws a team attempted in the season. Just like makes, a high number of attempts represents an aggressive team that draws a lot of fouls.
Free Throw Percentage %
The Percentage of Free Throws a team made during the season (makes / attempts). A high percentage depicts a teams ability to make free throws in important situations, often when the game is on the line.
Rebounds
Number of Rebounds a team had that season. A high number means a team is able to stop their opponent on defense, and get a second chance to score on offense.
Opponent's Rebounds
The number of rebounds the competition got in each game a team played. A lower number is probably preferred here because that means the team listed scores on a lot of it's possessions, and does not give the opponent many second chances to score when they have the ball.
Rebound Differential
This is how many rebounds a team had than their opponents during the season (Rebounds - Opponent's Rebounds). A larger number is better in this category, and allows teams who play at a slower pace to show good rebounding stats (slower pace means less rebounding opportunities over the course of a game).
Offensive Rebounds
The number of rebounds a team got on their own missed shot. In basketball, this allows a team a "second chance" to score, so a higher number of offensive rebounds means more chances to score points.
Assists
Number of times a team scores immediately after a teammate passed them the ball. A high number in this column depicts a teams ability to work together as a team and score a lot of points.
Turnovers
Number of times a team lost the ball when they had possession. Lower numbers are better in this column, and less turnovers means more shots, which means more chances to score.
Assist to Turnover Ratio
This ratio is found by dividing assists by turnovers (assists / turnovers). A larger ratio is better, and shows a teams willingness to pass the ball and do so safely and successfully.
ESPN Strength of Schedule
A measure of the difficulty of the opponents played. A lower number means a harder schedule, and harder schedules means teams have played better opponents. Even if this leads to some losses, a harder strength of schedule means a team is battle tested, preparing them for the March Madness tournament.
Wins Against Top 25 RPI Teams (2014-2019)/Quad 1 Wins(2021 and later)
The top 25 RPI stat became unavailable and our tournament moved to the Quad 1 wins. Both stats refer to a measure of "good wins".
Wins against top 25 RPI teams : The number of wins this team had against teams ranked in the Top 25. This means a team not only played good opponents, but was able to win this many of those games.
Quad 1 Wins: The number of wins this team had against strong opponents. This measure includes an adjustment for the location the game was played (home, away, neutral).
Losses Against Top 25 RPI teams(2014-2019)/Quad 1 Losses(2021 and later)
The top 25 RPI stat became unavailable and our tournament moved to the Quad 1 losses. Both stats refer to a measure of "good losses".
Losses Against Top 25 RPI Teams: The number of losses this team had to teams ranked in the Top 25. Although losses are bad, losing some games to good teams is okay. It is important to compare this with the number of wins to see a teams success against Top 25 teams.
Quad 1 Losses: The number of losses this team had against strong opponents. This measure includes an adjustment for the location the game was played (home, away, neutral).
Total Points
Number of points the team scored in the season. The team with the most points wins the game, so this is clearly an important stat!
Average Points per Game (PPG)
Average Points per Game is the total number of points divided by the number of games played (Total Points / Games). A lot of points is good, but remember that lower seeded teams could have a lot of points as well.
Total Opponent Points
The total points a team gave up to their opponents during the season. A lower number is preferred here.
Average Opponent Points per Game (PPG)
Found by dividing Total Opponents PPG with the Game Count (Total Opp PPG / Game Count), this number represents how many points a team gives up per game on average. We prefer to have a low number here, but a team can give up a lot of points as long as they score more to win the game.
Total Scoring Differential
The difference in how many points a team scored over the course of a season compared to how many points they gave up. A higher number is obviously desired because the goal of basketball is to score more points than the other team.
Scoring Differential Per Game
This number is found by dividing the Total Scoring Differential with the Game Count (Total Scoring Diff / Game Count). The number we get is how much a team wins by on average (or for some teams, loses by). This is an important stat, but remember that teams with weaker opponents may show a better stat in this column.