This week in Assist Map Mondays, we take a look at the first meeting of the season between two of the biggest rivals in all of sports. On Wednesday, February 20, the 8th ranked UNC Tar Heels defeated the #1 Duke Blue Devils 88-72 at Cameron Indoor. Both teams sport strong offenses complemented with equally strong defenses, with Duke ranking top five in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency and Carolina…
This week in Assist Map Mondays, we examine a top-five battle from the SEC. On Saturday, February 16, the #5 ranked Kentucky Wildcats soundly defeated the #1 ranked Tennessee Volunteers 86-69 in Lexington.Kentucky utilized a balanced approach in this game, demonstrating their prowess on both sides of the ball. The Wildcats currently rank as KenPom’s 5th best team in the nation, standing at 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 8th…
This week we take a look at a battle in the ACC between two of the top three teams in the nation. On Saturday, February 9, the Duke Blue Devils defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 81-71 in Charlottesville.On the same day that the NCAA selection committee named Duke as their #1 overall seed in their current tournament rankings (Virginia came in as the third #1 seed), the Blue Devils earned a…
This week’s college basketball slate featured many interesting, high-profile games. Several teams in the top 10 lost, with some losing their first games of the season, including #2 Michigan. On Saturday, January 19, the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Michigan Wolverines 64-54.Despite the fact that Michigan was ranked second in the country and Wisconsin was unranked, this was a closer game on paper than one might have thought. Wisconsin ranks as…
This week in Assist Map Mondays, we circle back to Davidson basketball for an important game early in the nonconference season. On Saturday, January 13, the Davidson Wildcats defeated the VCU Rams 64-57.With both teams heading into the game with an 11-4 overall record and 2-0 within the conference, this one was bound to be a close and exciting game. VCU is perennially known for their stingy defense, and this…
Welcome back to Assist Maps Monday! College basketball’s nonconference slate is over, and conference play has officially begun. This week, we take a look at a stunning upset in the Mountain West Conference. On Saturday, January 5, the New Mexico Lobos defeated the sixth-ranked Nevada Wolf Pack 85-58.Entering this game, Nevada had an undefeated record at 14-0 and was considered a real threat to enter the postseason with an unblemished…
After a two-week hiatus, Assist Map Mondays is back! This time we’re taking a look at a big matchup between two storied programs. On Saturday, December 22, the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the UNC Tar Heels in the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago.Both teams recorded very similar statistics in this game, shooting about the same from the field (43.1% for Kentucky compared to UNC’s 42.9%), from the three-point line (34.6% compared…
This week, we take a look at a huge top-three showdown from Hawaii. On Wednesday, November 21, #3 Gonzaga defeated #1 Duke in the final of the Maui Invitation 89-87.This game featured two teams with terrific offenses complemented with fairly good defenses. According to KenPom, Duke currently ranks second—only behind Nevada—in adjusted offensive efficiency and eighth in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Zags rank fourth in adjusted offensive efficiency and 27th…
Welcome back to this year’s edition of Assist Map Mondays. As a reminder, every week we take an in-depth look at the nation’s biggest games by providing assist data. As was the case last year, this data will appear in the form of a graphic showing players who both assisted and received assists in a given game. The graphic is a chord diagram in which the width of the chord…
Phones pinged like 3-point attempts in the playoffs. LeBron James informed the Cavs that he would decline his option and, indeed, become a free agent. Where could the King fit in his quest to sit atop the NBA championship? While LeBron can take a team far, we saw this season that the road, while possibly long in the post-season, is one that, to LeBron’s dismay, might ultimately have a Golden…
