Advanced Statistics: Arkansas vs. Wake Forest

A bit delayed in getting this up from the game Friday night, but below are the advanced statistics from the 88-85 Wake Forest win over Arkansas.

I'll also throw in a few takeaways that stick out to be at the bottom.

As always, all credit goes to SCACCHoops.com for the statistics.

• Greg McClinton being +14 really surprised me, but his 6 points and 2 rebounds in 9 minutes is pretty good, as is his 3/4 shooting.
• The worst lineup by far was Crawford, Wilbekin, Hudson, Thomas, and Collins. I would really expect that lineup to be pretty successful honestly.
• To contact that, the best lineup was our starting lineup, which includes probably our three worst defensive players (outside of TVH), so that is also a bit odd to me.
• Devin Thomas had a really, really good game, with 20 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and only 2 turnovers. That comes out to 117 offensive rating on 27% usage rate. That's pretty good.
• Dinos Mitoglou is only going to be a "positive" player in terms of overall rating if he is an efficient shooter. His defense will always be questionable due to poor lateral foot speed, but when he goes 4/6 from the field, and 2/4 from deep, that will usually outweigh his negatives on defense. He was also held without a rebound for only the second time in his collegiate career (Bucknell last year). For a top 500 rebounder in both offensive and defensive rebounding in the country that is quite odd.
• Although Crawford went 0-8 from the field, he still filled up the stat sheet with 4 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 7 turnovers. I personally don't have a problem with his turnovers or shot selection as long as it comes from him being aggressive to the basket. As good as Wake is at rebounding the ball on the offensive side, even missed layups and short shots can lead to shot creation for other players. That may sound odd, but I love his aggressiveness, especially since he is a 75% free throw shooter.
• Overall our defense really needs to improve. It feels like we have periods where we can lock down, but that is usually followed with an opponent spurt to follow. The 117.3 defensive efficiency was the third worst of the year (Richmond, and Vandy), and our defensive numbers continue to fall as the season goes on. That needs to be remedied, and quickly if the Deacs are going to make any noise in the ACC this season. UNC-G and Coastal Carolina will be two good games to lock down and work on fundamentals, as they rank 295th and 207th respectively in offensive efficiency in the country.