Bucky Ball: By the Numbers
It is officially the turn of the new year and Samford basketball is off to their best start, arguably in school history. The Bulldogs finished the non-conference slate with an 11-game winning streak which is the nation’s fourth longest active streak. Samford also has their highest ever KenPom rating (100th) dating back to 2000.
Southern Conference play is here as the team opens up against Chattanooga at home on Wednesday night. Chattanooga has already played a game after the Christmas break losing at Auburn. With the addition of Trey Bonham, who is now eligible after the NCAA allowed two-time transfers now to play without penalty, it should be a great opening test for Samford.
Before the SoCon opener tomorrow night, let’s dive into Samford basketball by the numbers. We will get into the positives from the non-conference and what negatives that need to be corrected.
Positives
Assists Per Game (20.7) | 63.8 Assist % (KenPom)
This Samford team is one of the best in the entire country at sharing the basketball. Those 20.7 assists per game is 4th in the country. This version of Bucky Ball relies less on isolations and more on team basketball. Samford last year had to rely more on Ques Glover to create offense but this team is the best passing team Samford has had per Bucky McMillan.
The second stat per KenPom is that Samford has assisted on 63.8% of their made field goals which is 13th in the country. Last season, Samford ranked 322nd in the country in this category. Just another eye-opening stat on the difference with this Samford team compared to that of the last couple seasons.
Scoring Offense (90.2 PPG)
Samford has been able to put up points and put them up in bunches. 90.2 points per game ranks 6th in the country up there with the likes of Arizona, Alabama, and Kentucky. Samford has four players that average more than nine points per game and it seems that everyone in the current rotation has stepped up at different times. Jaden Campbell stepped up when Jermaine Marshall went down, Garrett Hicks has come on as of late. Riley Allenspach had 15 points against Belmont.
We have not even mentioned Achor Achor who leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game. He has been as advertised as he was in the preseason. Not relying on one player and distributing the scoring will help this team in SoCon play.
3-Point Shooting (40.2%)
Helping Samford average 90 points per game, is how well they are shooting from three-point land. Per KenPom, the Bulldogs are ninth in the country in this category. About everyone on the team is shooting well as of late. AJ Staton-McCray has improved immensely shooting at a 44% clip. Rylan Jones is at 40%, Nathan Johnson has been shooting lights out over the last couple games, he is at 48%. You never know on any given night what number of guys who will have the hot hand from outside.
Turnovers Forced Per Game (17.6)
Moving over to the defensive end, Samford is again top 10 in the country in another category, turnovers forced per game. The Bulldogs play at a rapid pace on both ends as they are 5th in the country in Adjusted Tempo per KenPom. They want to get up and down the floor on offense, and speed you up on defense getting you out of your comfort zone. Samford ran Louisiana off the floor and also had the same success against Belmont before they settled in for the second half.
Negatives
Turnovers Committed Per Game (20.8)
One thing that has to be corrected is how much Samford has been turning the basketball over. Samford commits 20.8 turnovers per game which is 325th in the country. Some could say this is due to the fast pace that Samford plays with, but still this is something to watch going forward against better competition. Going on the road in this conference is extremely tough and if you turn it over that many times, it becomes harder to win especially if the shots are not falling.
Defensive Rebounding (26.3)
Samford ranks near the bottom in the SoCon in getting rebounds on the defensive end and which is tied for 149th in the country. If you turn the ball over that many times plus have trouble rebounding, that is not a great recipe. Especially on the road, giving teams extra possessions and or easy buckets, does not bode well for success. Samford is not the biggest team so it takes good effort to rebound well.
Overall, a lot of positives to take away from the non-conference slate as is evident with this 11-game win streak. The emergence of multiple players has been key to Samford winning game after game. You still want to see improvement on the defensive end as there are always things to correct there.
Momentum for this program heading into SoCon play is at an all-time high. Samford finds themselves again in the top tier of the conference with a great chance at winning the league. Get out to the Pete Hanna Center to watch the Winter Soldier lead his team into multiple battles playing in this challenging conference.
After hosting Chattanooga on January 3rd, Samford then travels to The Citadel on January 6th. Bucky Ball is back home after that against UNCG on Thursday, January 11th.
