Power Rankings Methodology

Most power rankings, such as John Hollinger’s from ESPN, consider points scored and allowed as an important factor.

In place of that, Bin-a-Hoop’s Power Ranking uses z-points, which measure much more effectively the competitiveness of a game. For example, we could have two different games ending both with a 10 point difference. In one of them the winning team pulled away in the last minutes of the 4th quarter; the other game was a blow out all the way through but the scoreboard was bid up at the end (that happens all the time!). Points scored and allowed will not reflect the different competitive nature of these two games, but z-points do.

The Ranking is basically an adjustment to each team’s W/L record. A team is better if it wins easy and loses hard.

To make this adjustment, for each game played I sum up ALL z-points scored (by both teams) in the game. Total z-points scored is a great indicator of the level of competitiveness all throughout the game. So I do this for the Wins and then for the Losses. Then I calculate the average for both Wins and Losses (W2 and L2), but this average is a weighted average, so that we give more weight to recent games. This helps to rank teams accordingly to their current level  of play and takes into consideration things such as players injured or back from injuries, changes in the lineup, etc.

The formula of the Rating (wRating) is then:

wRating:        [  (W/L pct. * 1/W2) - [(1 - W/L pct.) * 1/L2] ] * 100,

where “W/L pct.” is the Win/Loss record of the team and W2 and L2 are the weighted averages of total z-points scored in games won and lost, respectively.

I also include in my Ranking the “regular” Rating, which is the same Rating as the wRating but without giving more weight to recent games. In this Rating, each games carries an equal weight.

Rating:        [  (W/L pct. * 1/W1) - [(1 - W/L pct.) * 1/L1] ] * 100,

where “W/L pct.” is the Win/Loss record of the team and W1 and L1 are the simple linear averages of total z-points scored in games won and lost, respectively.

By comparing the Rating with the wRating we can determine if a team has been doing better or worse in the last few games.

Bin-a-Hoop’s Ranking is calculated automatically and does not account for any subjective views or opinions.