Or: Tim’s foray into tempo-free statistics.
Michigan takes on conference foe Indiana tonight at 6:30 in Bloomington. The game can be seen on Big Ten Network.
Tempo-Free and efficiency comparison (if you need an explanation of what any of these things mean, head to KenPom’s website):
| Michigan v. Indiana: National Ranks | Category | Michigan | Indiana | Advantage |
| Mich eFG% v. IU eFG% D | 75 | 263 | MM |
| Mich eFG% D v. IU eFG% | 100 | 240 | MM |
| Mich TO% v. IU Def TO% | 4(!) | 33 | M |
| Mich Def TO% v. IU TO% | 186 | 341 | MM |
| Mich OReb% v. IU DReb% | 246 | 228 | I |
| Mich DReb% v. IU OReb% | 202 | 191 | I |
| Mich FTR v. IU Opp FTR | 166 | 116 | I |
| Mich Opp FTR v. IU FTR | 10 | 121 | MM |
| Mich AdjO v. IU AdjD | 13 | 98 | M |
| Mich AdjD v. IU AdjO | 185 | 290 | MM |
Differences of more than 100 places in the rankings garner two-letter advantages, differences of more than 200 get a third.
Indiana is really, really bad this year. I’ll allow Spartans Weblog to bring the visual aid:
IU’s defensive efficiency is near the bottom of the conference, but the story for the Hoosiers this year has been their utter ineptitude on offense. This is understandable when you have no players, and that is certainly the case for Indiana. In this particular game, Michigan has 100+ ranking-place advantages in 5 categories, and Indiana only leads the Wolverines in those areas you’d expect Michigan, and perimeter-oriented team, to be weak. Each team’s effective field goal percentage should play a significant role in determining who wins this game. The Wolverines hold huge advantages in this area on each end of the floor. Ken Pomeroy predicts a 72-62 Michigan victory, with the Hoosiers only given a 17% chance to steal a win.
There is no way to spin this game as anything other than a must-win for Michigan. Indiana is a sorry squad this year, and Tom Crean has some major rebuilding to do inside Assembly Hall. One key factor to keep in mind is the home-court advantage. The Wolverines have played only one true road game this year, a 5-point loss to Maryland. That was over a month ago, and Beilein’s crew will have to adjust to playing away from Crisler.
Posted under Analysis, Basketball
Tags: indiana, preview
Is this game on BTN or… ???
Yes. The game is on BTN.