Want to be a smarter Kentucky basketball fan? You should know these modern numbers

Mark Pope is something of a Basketball Benny.

You might remember the phrase that John Calipari threw around in his day as Pope’s Kentucky basketball coach predecessor, a term of what seemed equal parts endearment and derision that Calipari used to describe fans who fancied themselves deep knowers of the game.

In contrast to Calipari, Pope and his staff like to talk strategy. And Pope not only deploys modern analytics in coaching the Wildcats but also references them in his public speaking.

You don’t need to know every concept Pope talks about. But if you want to better understand basketball, there are some modern numbers that matter more than others. You might hear Pope address them or a TV announcer drop them into analysis. You might read them here or elsewhere.

Many of these stats were designed to account for variance in pace, an important factor that can skew more traditional basketball numbers. Advanced statistics account for the fact that some games — and some play styles — create more possessions than others.

Here’s a list of 10 common contemporary basketball numbers you should know to keep up with the cutting-edge Cats.

Assist percentage. This number measures the percentage of his team’s field-goal makes a player assisted on while on the court. Many coaches prefer it to the traditional assists-per-game average because it removes pace as a factor and provides a better measure of a player’s passing contributions.

Block percentage. An estimate of the percentage of an opponent’s two-point misses that are blocked by any one player. The more a team shoots, the more opportunities a shot-blocker has. This figure indicates the efficiency of shot-blocking regardless of attempts.

In 2012, Anthony Davis led Division I in blocks per game at 4.7, but Kansas’ Jeff Withey finished first in block percentage at 15.3%; Davis was second at 13.7%.

Effective field-goal percentage. More than 30 years ago, Rick Pitino arrived in Lexington talking up the value of a 3-point shot. These days, analytics account for it. Effective field-goal percentage takes into account the greater value of a 3-pointer compared to a two-point bucket. The formula adds half the number of 3-pointers made to the total field goals made, then divides by total field goals attempted.

Trent Noah shot 45.1% from the floor as a freshman, but 12 of his 23 made field goals were 3-pointers. That weighted number gave him an effective field-goal percentage of 56.9%.

Free-throw rate. Forget about attempts per game at the line. This simple formula — divide the number of free-throw attempts by the number of total field-goal attempts — is a better indicator of how good a player or team is at getting to the line. The higher the rate, the more a team or player is getting to the foul line.

Offensive/defensive efficiency. If you don’t retain any other terms here, hold on to these. They’ll come up a lot over the course of a season. Offensive efficiency is the number of points a team scores per 100 possessions. Defensive efficiency is the number of points it allows per 100 possessions.

Points scored and allowed per game are flawed metrics because they don’t account for the pace of a game. Per-possession averages are a better indicator of how well a team scores — and prevents opponents from scoring — whether the game is a track meet or a slog.

In 2024-25, Alabama averaged 90.7 points per game. Tennessee averaged 74. A massive difference, right? But Alabama’s offensive efficiency was 118.5; Tennessee’s was 114. By taking into account that Alabama generates more possessions with its faster pace of play, you get a better sense of how effectively each team scored within its system.

Trivia you’ll hear a lot: Since KenPom.com’s efficiency ratings debuted in 2002, every NCAA men’s basketball champion has ranked in the top 40 in offensive efficiency and the top 25 in defensive efficiency.

Players can have offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, too. Those numbers reflect a team’s points scored or allowed per 100 possessions only when that player is on the floor.

Screen assist. Though it’s not a readily available stat for college basketball fans, it’s one coaches have access to, and Pope regularly references it. It’s simple: A player earns a screen assist by setting a screen that leads directly to a teammate’s basket.

Tempo. Also called “pace,” this reflects the number of possessions a team averages in a 40-minute game. Typically, the faster a team plays, the higher its tempo. But this isn’t a measure of speed up and down the court. It reflects a team’s ability to create possessions in any number of ways, from shooting early in the shot clock to forcing turnovers. If you’re a KenPom user, you’ll see “adjusted tempo” on Ken Pomeroy’s site. That reflects the number of possessions a team would average against an opponent that wants to play at an average tempo.

Unlike the NBA, the NCAA doesn’t offer possessions as an official statistic, so analysts like Pomeroy have to build formulas for estimating them based on field-goal attempts, turnovers and trips to the free-throw line. You can read this explainer to see how it’s done.

Total rebound percentage. This formula generates an estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while on the floor. You can also find percentages for offensive and defensive rebounds specifically. Together, these numbers can provide a better reflection than rebounds per game of how effectively a player is working on the glass.

Last season, for example, Kentucky’s Amari Williams averaged 8.5 rebounds per game, which ranked 45th in Division I men’s basketball. But when he was on the court, Williams grabbed 20.4% of all available rebounds. That was 10th-best nationally.

True shooting percentage. Like effective field-goal percentage, this number accounts for more than just field goals made. In this case, it factors in the shooting percentage on two- and 3-point shots and free throws to come up with a number that reflects a team’s or player’s overall shooting efficiency.

Last season at Kentucky, Ansley Almonor had what’s called a 50/40/90 season based on his shooting percentages from the floor (50.4%), the 3-point line (42.4%) and the free-throw line (90.6%). As a result, he led the Wildcats in true shooting at 69.8%.

Usage rate. If you want a better understanding of how your favorite team operates, this individual stat is great to study. The number reflects the percentage of a team’s plays an individual player “uses” when on the court. Use is defined as a possession ending in that player taking a shot or free-throw attempt or committing a turnover. The higher the percentage, the more involved that player is in a team’s offense.

Last season, Otega Oweh used a team-high 26.7% of Kentucky’s possessions when he was on the floor. The number doesn’t account for assists on a possession, so it’s not a reflection of playmaking skill. But generally speaking, players with high usage rates and low turnovers are highly efficient, critical offensive pieces.

Want to delve deeper into understanding and using advanced numbers? Start with the Kentucky basketball team pages at KenPom.com and Sports Reference College Basketball.