Inside the numbers

The IU basketball team is 12-3 at Assembly Hall and 0-11 away from it this season.

What happens when the team leaves Bloomington that makes it so tough for the Hoosiers to win?

Here’s a look at the home and road statistics from Big Ten games, since many lesser non-conference opponents padded IU statistics, especially at Assembly Hall.

Statistics 101
In Big Ten play, IU is 3-3 at home and 0-7 on the road. Offensively, IU’s stats actually improve on the road — the team averages more points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, while committing fewer turnovers in road games. However, IU also allows its opponents to play much better on their own court.

                                         At Assembly Hall        On the road        Difference
IU’s record                                  3-3                            0-7
Points allowed by IU                   64.2                          77.7                 -13.5
Rebounds allowed by IU            30.7                           34.6                 -3.9
Assists allowed by IU                 10.8                           15.1                 -4.3
Steals allowed by IU                   5.5                             6.3                  -0.8
IU opponent field goal pct.         44.6%                        47.7%             -3.1%
IU opponent 3-point pct.             37.5%                        39.8%             -2.3%

Advanced Statistics
Four key statistical categories determine the success of a basketball team, statistician Dean Oliver says. These “Four Factors” — which have become a very popular measuring stick for a team — consist of shooting efficiency, avoiding turnovers, grabbing offensive rebounds and getting to the foul line.

These are measured by the following:
1. Effective field goal percentage (field goal percentage with a 50 percent added weight to 3-point shots)
2. Turnover percentage (percent of possessions in which a team turns the ball over)
3. Offensive rebounding percentage (percent of rebounds grabbed by the offense)
4. Free throw rate (number of free throw attempts divided by field goal attempts)
A look at these statistics again reveals that offensively, IU does better on the road than at home. On the road, it has a lower turnover rate, higher offensive rebounding percentage and higher free throw rate. But defensively, the Hoosiers struggle on the road.

                                    At Assembly Hall        On the road        Difference
FOUR FACTORS               
Opponent eFG pct.                52.2%                    53.75%                +1.5%
Opponent TO pct.                 20.2%                    16.3%                  -3.9%
Opponent Off. Reb. pct.          31.5%                    30.2%                  -1.3%
FTRate                           52.4%                    62.0%                  +9.6%

— Nathan Hart