To help understand why Michigan fell from a #15 preseaon ranking to two games under .500 overall and four games in the Big Ten, our crack statistical team here at WLA.com have created another PUNCH YOU IN THE MOUTH Graphic.

[Note: These graphs are interactive, due to the amazing powers of the internet and represent actual stats.]

The first graphic shows you the Michigan’s Big Ten 2009-2010 season on the left and the measures of 3PT%, FG%, %FGA that are 3PTA, and Blocks (BKS).
Mich B10 BB
Mich B10 BB

Many critics of Beilein’s offense state that it relies too much on the three point shot. One way to look at that would be to look at 3PT% and the percentage of FGA that are 3PTA and think the more threes MICH shoots and the more frequent they make them, the more points they score. On the surface, this explanation makes sense and a cursory view of Beilein’s MICH basketball looks that way. Another criticism of Beilein’s offense is that his type of players are not athletic enough or are too gritty. These intangibles are best measured with personal fouls (PFs) (axis reversed reveals secret meaning) as those players would be constantly fouling as they are either too gritty or not athletic enough. Unfortunately, as you can see from the trend lines, this analysis is wrong. Expanding on the 3PT focus, if you look at the Big 10 as a whole, shooting more 3PT shots is not a recipe for success. Simple analysis would simply comment that while MICH shoots a lot of three pointers, their problem is that they are last in the conference in 3PT%, i.e if they made more 3PTs they would win more games. Big 10 and 3PTs
Big 10 and 3PTs

Not so fast poorly e-formated, fake question answering, weather updating, insiderz informing blogger. Our spot on WLA analysis reveals a much more complex finding. On the left you can see that more wins correlate with a higher FG% and 3PT% (axis reversed helps reveal secret meaning), but also correlate with a lower percentage of FGAs that are 3PTA, same for FGM and 3PTM (axis again reversed to reveal secret meaning). That means that the teams that are winning more games are not just making more threes, instead they use the 3PTA less frequently.

The graph below is a little complicated: The size of the dots correspond to the average minutes played, the color represents FG%, the x-axis is average PPG and the y-axis indicated the percentage of FGA and FGM that are 3PTA and 3PTM. A reference line at .500 separates whether or not the majority of a player’s points come from the 3PT shot.

3PTs and Points
3PTs and Points

Everybody knows that Harris and Sims are MICH’s best players, and Amaker recruits. If Beilein’s offense supposedly revolves around the 3PTA, then you would expect these two players to score more of their points from behind the arch, but this is not the case. Instead Beilein’s offense allows them both to score without relying on the 3PTA. As you can see, Harris and Sims have higher FG% and score more points via 2PTA than any one else with comparable minutes. Beilein is not a bad coach, nor does is his offensive revolve around the three ball. Also of note, all Wright does is shoot threes, too bad there is not a better way to get Gibson’s limited minute stats in the game more, Novak and Douglass are the same person stat wise on offense, and Morris with his high FG% and fewer 3PTA means Beilein recruits are not just outside bombers. Lasly, if you don’t agree, that you can…