TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: 3.6 million shots don’t lie: The 3-pointer really does help you win NCAA games

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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 06-06-2019, 08:17 PM:

Last week, we ranked Division I schools by their 3-point performance this century. But does being at the top of that list spell good things for a program? Indeed it does.

We looked at the 3,600,541 total 3-pointers taken since the 2000-01 season (1,249,423 of which were made), and the research shows there is a strong correlation between 3-point success and win-loss percentage.

In fact, the two teams with the highest win percentages since the 2000-01 season also had the highest 3-point percentage since then.

The top overall is Gonzaga, which is 509-109 (.824) this century while shooting 38.2 percent from the 3-point line — both the best marks in Division I.

Right behind is Kansas, with a 536-115 (.823) record and a 38.1 percent performance from deep — both good for second place.

Of course there are outliers. Out of 317 teams, Memphis has the 192nd best 3-point percentage (.344), but the seventh-best win percentage (459-168, .732). Southern Utah is the 13th best 3-point shooting team (at .371), yet has only won 36.9 percent of its games (196-339).

But of the 50 most accurate 3-point shooting teams, only 12 have a win percentage below .500 since 2000-01.

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