In case anyone missed it this week, I plan to incorporate Kenpom.com stats a ton into our coverage this year. So before Friday night tips off, we are going over the basics behind each key statistic.
Part 1: Kenpom Basics
Part 2: Turnover Rate
Part 3: Rebounding Rate
Today we look at effective field goal percentage.
What is effective field goal percentage (eFG%)? In one sentence, eFG% is just a more accurate version of FG%.
This is a pretty basic one. eFG% takes into account that three-pointers are worth more than two-pointers (obviously).
Since three's are worth more than two's, it's only fair to give players proper credit for shooting a (probably) lower overall percentage from deep to earn extra points.
Example:
Player A makes 33-of-100 shots (33 percent) from three-point range = 99 points.
Player B makes 50-of-100 shots (50 percent) from two-point range = 100 points.
It wouldn't be fair to say "well Player A is much less efficient than Player B, he's shooting 33 percent from the field and Player B is shooting 50 percent."
Player A has to be given credit for making three's over two's.
An NBA example I found online: HoF center Bob Lanier finished his career with a 51.4 FG%. Reggie Miller's was just 47.1%.
But Reggie Miller's eFG% was 54.4 percent, because he made so many three's at a high rate. Lanier's eFG% stays at 51.4%, because he didn't shoot from outside.
Also, it's easy to underestimate just how quickly three's can rack up points.
Player A makes 38-of-100 shots from three = 114 points
Player B makes 57-of-100 shots from two = 114 points
Player A makes 41-of-100 shots from three = 123 points
Player B makes 62-of-100 shots from three = 124 points
How can I calculate eFG%? (FGM + 0.5*3PM)/FGA
Where did Indiana rank last year? As a team, Indiana led the country in this stat with a 58.7 percent effective field goal percentage.
A number of Hoosiers contributed to this area. What’s really interesting, I mentioned how good three-point shooting can boost this number pretty easily, but Thomas Bryant was IU’s best individual player last year in this category with a 69.3 eFG%.
Obviously a large majority of his shots were two’s, and he made 70 percent of those.
Beyond Bryant’s ridiculous percentage, it was really a balanced effort. Every IU player has their strengths and weaknesses, but one thing they almost all did last year was score pretty efficiently from the field.
IU has finished in the top ten nationally in this category three of the last five years, and a fourth year they finish in the top 20. This is clearly an identity stat for the Hoosiers.
What is good and bad? Here's a tier to go by.
2016 eFG% rankings:
No. 1 nationally: Indiana, 58.7%.
No. 25: Ohio, 54.2%.
No. 100: Florida Gulf Coast, 51.5%
No. 234: Wisconsin, 48.5%
No. 351 (Worst in D1): Illinois Chicago, 41.5%
And here's the tier from top to bottom in the Big Ten (right column).
Three takeaways:
Part 1: Kenpom Basics
Part 2: Turnover Rate
Part 3: Rebounding Rate
Today we look at effective field goal percentage.
What is effective field goal percentage (eFG%)? In one sentence, eFG% is just a more accurate version of FG%.
This is a pretty basic one. eFG% takes into account that three-pointers are worth more than two-pointers (obviously).
Since three's are worth more than two's, it's only fair to give players proper credit for shooting a (probably) lower overall percentage from deep to earn extra points.
Example:
Player A makes 33-of-100 shots (33 percent) from three-point range = 99 points.
Player B makes 50-of-100 shots (50 percent) from two-point range = 100 points.
It wouldn't be fair to say "well Player A is much less efficient than Player B, he's shooting 33 percent from the field and Player B is shooting 50 percent."
Player A has to be given credit for making three's over two's.
An NBA example I found online: HoF center Bob Lanier finished his career with a 51.4 FG%. Reggie Miller's was just 47.1%.
But Reggie Miller's eFG% was 54.4 percent, because he made so many three's at a high rate. Lanier's eFG% stays at 51.4%, because he didn't shoot from outside.
Also, it's easy to underestimate just how quickly three's can rack up points.
Player A makes 38-of-100 shots from three = 114 points
Player B makes 57-of-100 shots from two = 114 points
Player A makes 41-of-100 shots from three = 123 points
Player B makes 62-of-100 shots from three = 124 points
How can I calculate eFG%? (FGM + 0.5*3PM)/FGA
Where did Indiana rank last year? As a team, Indiana led the country in this stat with a 58.7 percent effective field goal percentage.
A number of Hoosiers contributed to this area. What’s really interesting, I mentioned how good three-point shooting can boost this number pretty easily, but Thomas Bryant was IU’s best individual player last year in this category with a 69.3 eFG%.
Obviously a large majority of his shots were two’s, and he made 70 percent of those.
Beyond Bryant’s ridiculous percentage, it was really a balanced effort. Every IU player has their strengths and weaknesses, but one thing they almost all did last year was score pretty efficiently from the field.
IU has finished in the top ten nationally in this category three of the last five years, and a fourth year they finish in the top 20. This is clearly an identity stat for the Hoosiers.
What is good and bad? Here's a tier to go by.
2016 eFG% rankings:
No. 1 nationally: Indiana, 58.7%.
No. 25: Ohio, 54.2%.
No. 100: Florida Gulf Coast, 51.5%
No. 234: Wisconsin, 48.5%
No. 351 (Worst in D1): Illinois Chicago, 41.5%
And here's the tier from top to bottom in the Big Ten (right column).
Three takeaways:
- eFG% is a more accurate version of FG%, which is unfair to those who shoot a lot of three's.
- Thomas Bryant’s incredible scoring efficiency inside the arc boosts Indiana in this category.
- This stat is one to pay attention to with Indiana teams because they consistently do well here.
