Glossary

Here's an explanation of the statistics featured on this site. A brief note about player stats - all reflect only how a player does while he's on the floor. So, for example, say Duke has 20 offensive rebounds, 10 of which it gets while Brian Zoubek is on the floor. The opponent has 20 defensive rebounds, also 10 of which it gets while Brian Zoubek is on the floor. If Zoubek gets 5 offensive rebounds, his ORB% is 25% (5/20), not 12.5% (5/40), because he got 5 of the 20 rebounds actually available to him. This is also why the scoring % and % shots taken add up to more than 100%. If you multiply those percentages by the percentage of possessions played by each player, then added them up, it would equal 100% (give or take a tenth or so due to rounding).

O Rating/D Rating:
This number indicates the number of points the team would score per every 100 possessions (the average game has around 70-75 possessions). O Rating is the amount the offense would score, and D Rating is the amount the opposition would score. For offense, anything over 105 is pretty good, and for defense, anything in the 90s is pretty good. 2005-06's best offense scored a 119, and the best defense had an 88.

Efficiency Margin:
The difference between a team's O Rating and D Rating. In a 100 possession game, if the team played to its Ratings, this would be the margin of victory.

PPWS (points per weighted shot):
A point per shot measure that also accounts for free throws (measured as .475 shots per free throw attempt). 1.00 is about average, anything over 1.15 for guards and 1.25 for bigs is excellent. This measures a scorer's efficiency (the fewer shots required for the same number of points, the more efficient the player).

Effective Field Goal % (EFG%):
Based on the Rick Pitino adage that a 40% 3pt shooter is as valuable as a 60% 2pt shooter. Since made 3s are worth 1.5 times made 2s, this field goal% reflects that. This doesn't measure efficiency as much as equalized shooting percentage - it helps make an accurate comparison for the actual shooting percentage value of, say, a JJ Redick (whose traditional fg% would be lower) against a Shelden Williams (whose traditional fg% is "inflated" on account of a lack of 3pt attempts).

A/B% (Assisted Basket percentage):
Indicates the percentage of made field goals that are the result of assists. As a player stat, it shows the percentage of made field goals that are the result of assists by that individual player.

ORB% (Offensive rebound percentage):
The rate at which a team gathers its own misses. The rate is derived by taking the number of team offensive rebounds and dividing by the sum of team offensive rebound and opponent defensive rebounds. As a player stat, it shows the rate at which an individual gathers misses by his own team.

DRB% (Defensive rebound percentage):
The rate at which a team gathers its opponent's misses. The rate is derived by taking the number of team defensive rebounds and dividing by the sum of team defensive rebound and opponent offensive rebounds. As a player stat, it shows the rate at which an individual gathers misses by the other team.

Block %:
The rate at which a team's field goal attempts are blocked. Measured as total blocks divided by opponent field goal attempts. As a player stat, it's the rate at which an individual blocks all opponent field goal attempts.

Steal %:
The rate at which an opponent's possessions end in a steal. Measured as total steals divided by opponent possessions. As a player stat, it's the rate per 100 opponent possessions that an individual makes a steal.

Turnover%:
The rate at which a team's possessions end in a turnover. Measured as turnovers divided by possessions. As a player stat, it's the rate per 100 possessions that an individual turns the ball over.

Assist/Turnover Ratio:
Exactly what it says - assists divided by turnovers.

Scoring %:
Individual stat only - measures an individual's total points as a percentage of the points scored by the team as a whole.

% Shots Taken:
Individual stat only - measures the number of shots taken by a player as a percentage of the total shots taken by the team (note, I haven't figured out how to factor in FTAs for this yet, so it just looks at FGAs).

FT Rate:
Individual stat only - measures the player's ability to get to the line. The stat is free throw attempts divided by total field goal attempts (times 100).