This may shock you, but I'm a bit of a stat fan. So it goes without saying that I almost fainted with joy when I discovered Basketball-Statistics.com, especially when Jon at B-S.com unveiled his NCAA +/- data. I have NO idea how he's compiled this -- in fact, I do believe I'll have to ask him -- but it is extremely interesting and tells a story that is not quite what you would expect.
As a whole, +/- data is a) easy to explain and b) not a perfect stat. It simply measures the team's point differential when a given player was on the court. It has been used in hockey for quite a while, and it has gained a lot of steam in the NBA statnerd community as well. Its limitations are easy to understand -- a lot of it depends on who else was on the court at the time ... whether you were on the court with the other team's starters, or your starters, or a bunch of scrubs, will obviously help or hinder your success. But it still manages to fill in some gaps that other stats do not, and it is a wonderful addition to the nerd arsenal.
Without further adieu, here are the current +/- stats for Mizzou's main contributors:
- Laurence Bowers +16.5
- Michael Dixon +16.0
- Kim English +4.4
- Steve Moore +2.9
- Miguel Paul +1.6
- Zaire Taylor +0.8
- Marcus Denmon -0.7
- J.T. Tiller -7.5
- Keith Ramsey -8.8
- Justin Safford -11.5
Here is the +/- for the offensive side of the ball:
- Laurence Bowers +11.4
- Steve Moore +8.7
- Mike Dixon +7.0
- Marcus Denmon +2.6
- Miguel Paul +2.1
- Kim English -1.3
- J.T. Tiller -2.3
- Zaire Taylor -2.5
- Keith Ramsey -8.9
- Justin Safford -9.4
And for the defensive side of the ball, where a negative score is best.
- Mike Dixon -8.9
- Kim English -5.7
- Laurence Bowers -5.1
- Zaire Taylor -3.3
- Keith Ramsey -0.1
- Miguel Paul +0.5
- Justin Safford +2.1
- Marcus Denmon +3.3
- J.T. Tiller +5.2
- Steve Moore +5.8
Needless to say, the name second from the bottom is a little surprising.
So what should we make of all this? Probably not much, at least not yet. If Steve Moore is in more against a team's backups than Keith Ramsey or Justin Safford, then his numbers will get a bit of an artificial boost. But that much of a boost? Is Mizzou really a better offensive team with whatever down-low presence Moore offers? Is Mizzou really a better defensive team without Tiller on the court? It will be interesting to watch these numbers develop as the season progresses, and I am infinitely thankful that Basketball-Statistics.com exists to track it now.