About 20 years ago a buddy of mine observed that the team that scores 69 points first usually wins the game. I laughed, but noticed through the years that he is correct. During the NCAA tournament last year I tracked this stat among others.
The tournament featured 66 games, and in 47 of those games, one or both teams scored at least 69 points. On 44 of those occasions, the team to score 69 first won, leaving only 3 cases where that team lost. While a sample size of 47 certainly isn't large, it is a start. At this point I'm willing to say that 94% of the time my friend's theory holds true.
We saw it happen again last night. UNC grabbed a 67-66 lead with 3:33 remaining. On the ensuing possession ND hit a "3", hitting 69 first, and went on to win comfortably.
There are many interesting trends in basketball, and this is certainly one to have fun watching.
The tournament featured 66 games, and in 47 of those games, one or both teams scored at least 69 points. On 44 of those occasions, the team to score 69 first won, leaving only 3 cases where that team lost. While a sample size of 47 certainly isn't large, it is a start. At this point I'm willing to say that 94% of the time my friend's theory holds true.
We saw it happen again last night. UNC grabbed a 67-66 lead with 3:33 remaining. On the ensuing possession ND hit a "3", hitting 69 first, and went on to win comfortably.
There are many interesting trends in basketball, and this is certainly one to have fun watching.
