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What role have injuries played in college basketball this season?

Grant Gibbs, Kameron Rooks, David Kravish

Creighton’s Grant Gibbs (10) yells after scoring on a rebound against California’s Kameron Rooks (44) and David Kravish (45) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013. Creighton won 68-54. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

AP

Dan Hanner, who crunches numbers over at RealGM.com, puts out one of my favorite columns of the year when he breaks down the offensive and defensive efficiencies of teams that suffer serious injuries throughout the season.

You can read it here and here. It’s worth your time.

Some of the most interesting numbers that Hanner produced:


  • Offensively, Kansas State is significantly better with Jevon Thomas in the lineup even though Thomas has been utterly atrocious shooting and scoring the ball. The reason for this is Thomas’ ability to create offense for others. Case in point: he was 1-for-6 from the floor in the win over West Virginia, but he had eight assists and no turnovers and took the pressure to create off of guys like Shane Southwell and Marcus Foster.
  • On paper, it looks like Creighton is significantly worse defensively and significantly better offensively without Grant Gibbs in the lineup. Those numbers are a bit skewed because of a blowout win over Butler at home and a blowout loss to Providence on the road. There’s an argument to be made that Creighton is better offensively with Devin Brooks getting more minutes, but where the Bluejays miss Gibbs is with his toughness and his leadership. He’s a presence. He’s not going to be intimidated going on the road to play Providence or Villanova or Marquette, and he’s not going to let his teammates be intimidated, either.
  • “Notre Dame has been playing like the 109th best team in the nation with [Jerian] Grant out,” Hanner wrote. Yikes.

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