Badgers ‘Elite Eight’ history
For all you Badgers fans who can’t wait until 5:07pm tonight for the game against Arizona to start, here’s a few stats that you may find interesting…
* Wisconsin has won their first three games as a Number One seed in the tournament. In the years since the NCAA went to a seeded format for this tournament, the Badgers have been a #4, #5 and #6 seed most often, each three times since 1979. Here’s a quick look at the team’s win-loss record as each seed since 1979:
Number 1 Seed: 3-0 (through games of March 26, 2015)
Number 2 Seed: 5-2
Number 3 Seed: 2-1
Number 4 Seed: 5-3
Number 5 Seed: 2-3
Number 6 Seed: 3-3
Number 7 Seed: 0-1
Number 8 Seed: 5-2
Number 9 Seed: 1-2
Number 12 Seed: 1-1
* The Badgers have made the Final Four three times, 1941, 2000 and 2014. They won two of those Elite Eight games by one point (1941 and 2014) and the other by a four-point margin (2000).
* This is the first time the Badgers have faced a #2 Seed (Arizona) in their regional.
* This will be the fourth time the Badgers have faced Arizona in the tournament. In 2000, they defeated Arizona, then a #1 seed, in the second round. In 2006 Wisconsin, the #9 seed, lost to Arizona, the #8 seed, in the first round of the tourney. Last season these two teams faced off in the elite 8 game with the Badgers (the #2 seed) defeating Arizona (the #1 seed) 64-63 in overtime.
* The Badgers have played in five Elite Eight games, winning three and losing two. The two losses occurred in 1947 and 2005. In the three games they won to go to the Final Four, the Badgers held their opponents under 64 points.
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Does the Brewers pitching staff need to hit more opposing batters?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Ron Roenicke (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Recently I read a posting by a Facebook friend where he was answering a question others had posed to him about why the Brewers were struggling. He went on to say that he thought the Brewers pitching staff was not pitching inside enough. As a former teammate of mine and a professional pitcher who had a brief stint in the majors, he has, in my mind, credibility in his analysis. It was an interesting post to read.
It got me thinking: Should the Brewers pitchers be pitching inside more to opposing batters? And… did my friend’s theory have any statistical validity?
Because his hypothesis focused on the current team under manager Ron Roenicke, I decided to look at the numbers from Roenicke’s two-plus years as Brewers skipper. Specifically, I looked at how many opposing batters Brewers pitchers had hit since Roenicke took over the team in 2011. The findings were very interesting:
* Since 2011 (and including games this year through June 20), the Brewers rank 30th in the majors (dead last) with the fewest numbers of opposing batters hit by their pitching staff with 79. The closest team to the Brewers are the Angels with 93. At the other end of the scale were the Boston Red Sox whose pitching staff had plunked 177 batters in that same timeframe.
* Since 2011, Brewers batters had been hit 179 times, first in the majors. That’s a difference of 100 when compared to how many batters the Brewers pitching staff had hit. Let that sink in a little… the Brewers batters have been hit 179 times; the pitchers have hit 79 batters.
* The difference of 100 batters (179 Brewers batters hit; 79 batters hit by the Brewers pitching staff) is the largest differential in the majors. The closest team to the Brewers are the Red Sox; their pitchers have hit 177 batters and their batters have been hit by opposing pitchers 120 times, a difference of 57.
* Looking just at 2013, the numbers are again similar. The Brewers pitching staff has hit 15 batters, ranking 28th in the league. Brewers batters have been hit 33 times, ranking third in the league. The difference of 18 is the highest in the majors.
* In looking at the teams that rank in the top three in most batters hit this year by their pitching staff (Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Arizona), those teams have a combined 126-89 record (a .586 winning percentage). The three teams ranking in the bottom three of most batters hit by their pitchers this season (Seattle, San Diego and Milwaukee) have a combined record of 98-120 (a .450 winning percentage).
So what do the numbers tell? Should the Brewers pitching staff be pitching inside more often?
Me, I’m not sure what the pitching staff should do. But my friend’s theory sure has the support of the numbers.
What do you think?
Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp
SIX STATS you might not know about… Final Four teams (the seed history)
SIX STATS is a bonus feature of Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Past history in the NCAA men’s Final Four is pointing to a Kentucky national championship. Here’s a look at some stats from the past 33 tournaments (in 1979 the NCAA went to seeding all the teams) and how team seeds have performed in the past.
1. A number one seed has won the NCAA men’s championship 20 times in the last 33 years. Since 1992 (the last 20 years) a #1 seed has won the tourney 14 times.
2. Kentucky is the only #1 seed in this year’s tournament. In the 11 times when there was only one #1 seed in the Final Four, that number one seed won the championship six times. This is the 31st time in the last 34 years of the tournament that at least one #1 seed has been in the Final Four.
3. This is the fifth time since 1979 that two #2 seeds are in the Final Four (1979, 1994, 1995, 2004). In the four previous times when two #2 seeds made the Final Four, one of those #2 seeds won the title (Michigan State in 1979 and Connecticut in 2004). Six #2 seeds have won the title since 1979, the last being Connecticut in 2004.
4. Louisville is the 12th #4 seed to make it to the Final Four since 1979. Only one #4 seed has ever won the championship: Arizona in 1997.
5. The lowest seeded team of the Final Four teams has won the tournament five times (Indiana as a #3 seed in 1981; North Carolina State as a #6 seed in 1983; Villanova as a #8 seed in 1985; Kansas as a #6 seed in 1988; and Arizona as a #4 seed in 1997).
6. This is only the second time since 1979 that two #2 seeds will face off in a Final Four semi-final game. This is the sixth time that a #1 seed will face a #4 seed in a Final Four semi-final. The #1 seed has won four of those five games.
How did Peyton Manning perform at the home fields of his four suitors?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog that is published multiple times weekly focusing on stats that go beyond the numbers.
Image via Wikipedia
As the Peyton Manning sweepstakes draws to a conclusion, there is a lot of speculation about where Peyton will land. Some media sources have recently mentioned that it’s down to two teams, Denver and Tennessee. Other sources have the Miami and Arizona still in the mix.
There’s several theories about what factors will determine Manning’s destination. Well, here’s a “stats” look at another factor that may (or may not) play a role in where Peyton wants to play. Below is a look at each of the four teams vying for Manning’s services and how well Peyton played at those home fields of the four suitors. Did Peyton perform especially well as a member of the Indianapolis Colts playing at these venvues?
W-L record 1-0 3-1* 4-3 6-3
Pass pct. 68.6 68.0 62.3 69.9
Yds per attempt 10.8 7.1 6.9 7.8
TDs/Ints 4/1 6/1 7/8 16/9
QB Rating 130.5 100.6 78.4 97.9
* Played only one series in the loss to Denver in their last regular season game before the playoffs. The Miami numbers do not include Peyton’s two Super Bowl appearances, which took place in Miami.
Unfortunately, there is not an equal sample of games to make any significant evaluation of Peyton’s numbers in these away games. If there is one key factor playing in the favor of the Titans, it’s that the Colts and Titans have played in the same division since 2002. Familiarity with the division would be an advantage.
If there is a factor playing in the favor of Arizona, it’s that Peyton has compiled better career stats against NFC opponents than AFC opponents (although his team has a better win-loss record against AFC teams). Here’s a breakdown of Peyton’s career stats versus AFC and NFC teams.
Stat AFC NFC
W-L pct. .686 .654
Pass pct. 64.5 66.1
Yds per attempt 7.48 7.98
TD/Int ratio 1.9 2.4
QB Rating 93.0 100.7
Note: TD/Int ratio means number of TD passes for every one interception.
Still confused? No clear-cut winner in these numbers. What’s my prediction? Peyton signs with Tennessee.
Selection Sunday: The 2012 NCAA men’s basketball tourney is here!
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
Image via Wikipedia
By the end of the day, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament brackets will be complete and one of the most exciting events in sports will take center stage. Here’s a couple of stats to whet your appetite for March Madness.
Current streak of most consecutive appearances in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (through 2011 tourney)
School, active consecutive appearances
Kansas 22
Duke 16
Wisconsin 13
Texas 13
Gonzaga 13
Pittsburgh 10
Note: The all-time record for most consecutive apppearances in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is 27, set by North Carolina from 1975-2001. Arizona is the only other school to have more consecutive appearances than Kansas’ current streak. Arizona made an appearance in the tourney 25 consecutive years from 1985 to 2009.
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Most NCAA men’s basketball tournament wins in this century (2000-2011)
Wins in tourney from 2000-2011, School(s)
31: Duke
30: Kansas
29: North Carolina, Michigan State
26: Connecticut
23: Florida
21: Kentucky, UCLA
20: Arizona
18: Texas, Wisconsin
17: Maryland
16: Butler, Syracuse, Illinois
15: Pittsburgh
14: Memphis
13: Xavier, Gonzaga, Oklahoma
12: West Virginia, Louisville, Viilanova, Ohio State
11: Oklahoma State, Purdue
10: Tennessee
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Schools with most tournaments of “one-and-out” (lost first game in NCAA tourney) in the last 10 years (2002-2011)
Years, Schools
6: Utah State
5: Brigham Young, Pennsylvania, Winthrop
4: Belmont, East Tennessee State, Marquette, Michigan State, Northern Iowa
Note: Eight schools have been “one-and-out” in each of the last two tournaments… Georgetown, Louisville, UNLV, Oakland, UC-Santa Barbara, Utah State (has been “one-and-out” in each of the last three tourneys), Vanderbilt and Wofford
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