New to basketball analytics? This page explains every term and metric used in the project.
Modern basketball analytics boils down to one insight: not all shots are created equal. A layup at the rim and a pull-up two-pointer from the elbow both count as two points if made, but the layup goes in far more often. A corner three is worth 50% more than a mid-range two, yet it is often attempted by players who shoot it just as well. So essentially the same shot but a worse result regardless of whether it goes in. The analytics era taught coaches to prioritize rim attempts and three-pointers, the two most efficient shot types. This project asks whether this strategy actually translates to success seen on the court.
Shooting efficiency stat that adjusts for the extra value of three-pointers. A made three counts as 1.5 made field goals in the formula, so a team that shoots 40% on threes grades out the same as one shooting 60% on twos. Higher is better
(FGM + 0.5 × 3PM) ÷ FGA
Raw percentage of field goal attempts that a team makes, with no adjustment for shot value. Used for individual zone efficiency
FGM ÷ FGA
Raw count of shot attempts. FGA/G normalizes it per game so teams with different game totals can be compared fairly. In this project, FGA/G refers specifically to rim + three-point attempts per game as the 'volume' axis of the main chart.
Percentage of a team's total attempts that come from a specific zone. For example, an At-Rim FGA% of 30% means nearly a third of the team's shots are taken right at the basket. Used in the shot-diet breakdown in each team's detail panel.
Every field goal attempt is assigned to one of five zones based on where it was taken on the court. These zones appear both in the main scatterplot axes and in the detailed shot chart shown when you click a team dot.
The official NCAA ranking used to seed the March Madness tournament. It combines team efficiency, strength of schedule, game location, and scoring margin. #1 is best; ~#365 is worst. Dot color in the main chart maps directly to NET rank.
The top tier of NCAA college basketball, consisting of roughly 365 programs. All teams in this project are Division I. D-I is subdivided into conferences, which range from the high-profile Power 5 leagues down to smaller mid-majors.
A grouping of teams that play a shared schedule against each other during the regular season. The Power 5 conferences—ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Big East—contain most of the historically elite programs and carry the toughest schedules.
A team's standing relative to all other D-I teams on a given stat. 90th percentile means the team is better than 90% of the country on that metric. Percentile chips in the team detail panel are colored red→green to make comparisons instant.
In this project, shot volume refers specifically to Rim + 3s FGA/G—the combined number of rim attempts and three-point attempts per game. It is the horizontal axis of the main scatterplot.
In this project, shot quality refers specifically to Rim + 3s eFG%—the effective field goal percentage on rim attempts and three-pointers combined. It is the vertical axis of the main scatterplot.
The distribution of a team's shot attempts across the five zones. A team with a good shot diet gets a high proportion of its attempts from the most efficient zones (rim and corner three). The bar chart in each team's detail panel shows this distribution.
The dashed lines on the main scatterplot mark the median value for each axis across all 365 D-I teams. Dots above the horizontal line shoot better than average; dots to the right of the vertical line shoot more than average.