Pomeroy Puts MU Under the Microscope

and with helpful analysis from co-blogger MUTPM, it is apparent that MU is not ready for it's closeup. Wanna get nervous? Check out these stats:

• - MU is 328th in the nation at defending the three-pointer. Opponents are shooting an astonishing 43.4% from 3-point range against MU. Only Rutgers is worse in the Big East;
• - MU is 249th in the nation in FT%;
• - MU turns the ball over on more than 20% of its possessions -- 123rd 'best' in the nation, but still better than nearly 2/3 of the teams out there.
  

Incredibly, the Triple Threat are shooting a combined 27% from 3-point land this season ..... and the folks they are guarding are hitting at 43% clip. Now realize that Matthews and McNeal are both struggling to make their own the free throws as well (both are far below last year's pace)......my oh my.

On the positive side of the ledger with Pomeroy's stats:

• - MU is 16th in the country in ORB percentage-- a good sign of aggressive play;
• - MU is 5th in the nation in steals percentage (better than 16%);
• - MU's defense is 4th best in the nation at forcing turnovers.

Astounding fact buried in these stats: MU's opposition is shooting better from outside the arc than inside the arc against us. MU is 328th in the nation at defending the three-pointer, and 26th defending close shots and that is without a true shot blocker.

On balance these numbers are ugly, but its early.....still, for a guard-oriented team I expected to note greater success with shooting percentages, FTs, and turnover percentage.

KEY LINKS
Pomeroy has MU stats updated through the NDSU game -- check out the MU page.

If the numbers are Greek to you, check out this post which explains the individual stats.

Here is a link to the Big Ten Wonk's explanation of tempo-free stats.