The goal for Daily Sports Viz is to present data in a simple manner so you – the consumer – can gather useful entertaining information.
The content will have a primary focus on sports but will stray into a wide variety of topics. A few sample topics are: Sports Gambling, Daily Fantasy Sports, NBA, NFL, MLB, College Sports, Yoga, Fitness, Health etc.
All posts will have an element of statistical analysis or data visualization along with a blog post.
Enjoy the content & thanks for your support as we progress along our journey.
Tom Izzo & the Spartans are traveling to Nebraska to take on the Corn Huskers in a Big 10 match up.
When looking at the different bets in this game, one particular bet jumped out at me. It was the 1st half total for Michigan St. Let’s take a look at the numbers & see why this number stood out so much.
Today’s viz shows how Michigan St performs in the 1st half in conference games & in particular road conference games.
As you can see from the viz above – Michigan St does not put up high totals in the 1st half in conference games & in particular road conference games. In fact, Michigan St is only averaging 29.14 1st half points in road conference games & haven’s scored more than 38 1st half points in any road conference game.
So back to why this bet jumped out to me, 38.5 points for a single team total in the 1st half is way to high – especially when you consider this is a conference road game. To put that in perspective, Michigan St would have to average just under 2 points per minute (20 minute halves) to hit this over.
Based on this number being so high & the statistics to back it up – I will be betting on the Michigan St Under. I Expect the Spartans to pull out the victory but not cover the 1st half over.
Tonight Auburn takes on Georgia in Athens in a February SEC battle. Since this is a conference road game for Auburn, I decided to focus on how Auburn performs in the 1st half of road conference games.
Today’s viz focuses on 1st points scored in conference games & in particular road conference games.
As you can see from the viz above – 100% of road conference games have gone under 36.5 1st half, Auburn averages 27.5 1st half points in road conference games & in 82% of Auburn conference games they have scored less than 36.5 points.
Let’s not get cute with this one & take the obvious bet.
Today we will be looking at effective FG% and how this stat will dictate the direction of our bet for the Purdue / Wisconsin game. Effective FG% measures field goal percentage adjusting for made 3-point field goals. This means 3-point field goals are 1.5 times more valuable than made 2-point field goals. This gives us a true measure of how effective each offense truly is.
I ran a statistical analysis and compared the effective FG% of Purdue when playing in conference road games – since they will be playing in Madison tonight. In the viz below I utilized effective FG% for the x-axis & 1st H point spread as the y-axis (negative means Purdue was winning at half).
As you can see from the viz above we found that 1st half spread & effective FG% are HEAVILY NEGATIVELY CORRELATED with a .63 r squared score. This means that when Purdue has a low effective FG%, they are more likely to not cover the 1st half spread. So the big takeaway from this is if we can predict what games Purdue will have a low effective field goal %, the more likely they will not cover the 1st half spread & we can profit.
The next viz takes a look at the effective FG% for all Purdue games this season.
I utilized a dark black circle to indicate road conference games. As you can see 6 of 8 road conference games fall below the average line. This means that Purdue is more likely to have a lower effective field goal % in conference road games. And from what we discovered above – lower effective field goal % leads to less chance for Purdue to cover the 1st half line. Purdue plays at Wisconsin tonight, so this game fits this criteria.
The next viz shows the point spread after the 1st half for all Purdue conference road games.
As you can see from the viz – Purdue STINKS in the 1st half of conference road games. If we use tonight’s 1st half line as a baseline (Purdue +2) & use this number to track past performance, we see that Purdue has only covered +2 1st half in one game. Now, let’s take a look at Wisconsin’s 1st half results in home conference games just to make sure we are doing our due diligence.
Well look at that – the exact inverse results. Wisconsin is AWESOME in home conference games, covering -2 1st half in 5 of 6 games.
In gambling we are only looking for a slight advantage & this statistical analysis shows that we need to trust the math and rock with Wisconsin -2 1st half.
The Tar Heels come into today’s game against Notre Dame riding a 5 game conference losing streak. With North Carolina’s chances of making the NCAA tournament virtually demolished, it will be interesting to see how Roy Williams can motivate these young Tar Heels for the rest of the season.
Today’s visual takes a look at North Carolina’s pace of play & in particular the pace of play in road conference games.
As you can see from the viz above – UNC’s pace of play drops significantly in road conference games. With tonight’s game being played in South Bend – I predict this trend to continue.
Pace of play is a great indicator to predict points scored. For the most part – a slower pace of play equates to less points scored. This is proven in the viz below. I took all conference games & the amount of 1st half UNC points and compared them to pace of play to see if I could find a positive coorelation. Using a scatter, I found they have a positive r squared value.
A positive r squared value means these two fields are positively correlated, meaning they are directly related. This value is not very high, so take these results with a grain of salt. But remember with gambling – we are only looking for a slight advantage.
With that being said, I am taking these results and running with UNC 1st Half Under.
Big Blue vs The Hoosier State – an old school big 10 match-up. For today’s bet I decided to take a look at Michigan home games & Indiana road games, specifically the 1st half results.
In conference road games that includes Michigan – 4 out of 6 games have gone under 65. On the flip side in conference home games at Indiana – 4 out of 6 games have also gone under 65.
I’m predicting a slow paced, low scoring 1st half. Stick with the 1st half under for this early Sunday Big 10 matchup.
Official Pick: Michigan @ Indiana Under 65 1st Half Points
Minnesota is playing Iowa in a classic Sunday afternoon Big 10 match up.
For today’s game I will be looking at the 1st half only. After diving into the numbers – I found an interesting trend regarding Minnesota Big 10 1st Halves.
As you can see from the visual above, there have been 2 Minnesota Big 10 games where the 1st half scored eclipsed 70.5 (Wisconsin & Penn St). In fact in Minnestoa Big 10 games this season, the average points scored in the 1st half is 63.
Another important piece of information is this is an early Sunday start time. I’m predicting both teams will come out slow and need some time to find their rhythm.
Iowa and Minnesota both average right around 70 possessions per game – meaning neither team plays at a high pace. I’m counting on Daniel Oturu and the Golden Gophers to step up defensively – roll with the 1st half under on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.
Official Pick: Iowa @ Minnesota 1st Half Under 70.5 Points
Michigan State has had an up and down season – no denying that. So instead of betting on the full game spread I will be focusing on the 1st half spread.
Michigan State’s offense is very good in the 1st half at home, especially against Big 10 opponents. In conference home games, Michigan State averages 37 points in the 1st half & in 5 of 6 games have scored more than 34.5 points.
On the flip side – Maryland’s defense is poor on the road – especially against Big 10 opponents (averaging 37 points against). Maryland has allowed more than 34.5 1st half points in 4 out of 5 conference road games.
Im rocking with Sparty, Izzo, & company and betting on Michigan State’s offense to come out humming.
Baylor’s defense at home is lethal, especially when facing a conference opponent. In Big 12 home games – Baylor allows 24.4 1st half points per game. The most points allowed at home vs Big 12 opponents is 26.
Wacky Waco is a legit home court advantage this season. I Expect the student section to be rocking & WVU to struggle in the 1st half.
Official Pick: West Virginia Under 29.5 1st Half Points
Do you have trouble sleeping, constantly tossing and turning throughout the night? Maybe your hamstrings feel so tight you could bounce a half dollar off them? Perhaps you’re so stressed that normal every day activities are tough to complete?
Lucky for you, I have the perfect product. For the low low price of hard work and persistence you too can cure all that ails you. Last but not least, for a limited time offer, if you throw in a little focus and breathing – we will include this literal visualization of Sun Salutation B. YOU WILL NOT FIND A DEAL LIKE THIS ANYWHERE ELSE – I GUARANTEE IT.
Okay end scene – no more infomercial voice.
For today’s featured viz I wanted to take a different approach to visualizing Sun Salutation B. I decided to utilize the literal names of the poses to represent this amazing sequence. If you start at the top and move clockwise – this will be 2/3 of the movement.
Of course if you wanted to complete the full sequence you would need a little more direction, but I thought this would be an interesting fun way to view the sequence. Let’s break down what each image represents and provide a little detail into each pose.
Mountain Pose (Tadasana): Stand with your feet together. Press your palms together in prayer position. Rest your thumbs on your chest and take a few breaths. Inhale and raise your hands above your head with your hands facing each other. Make sure your feet are equally balanced front to back and left to right. Flex your thighs to ensure your butt is tucked and not sticking out.
Chair Pose (Utkatasana): Inhale as you simultaneously bend your knees and lower your hips, similar to sitting back in a chair. Keep your arms raised, reaching through your fingertips. Draw your shoulder blades into your upper back ribs as you reach your elbows back towards your ears. Do not puff your rib-cage forward. Ensure your tailbone is drawn down to the floor, keeping your lower back long. If you can bring your hips down parallel with the floor, if not oh well, and lift through your heart. Shift your weight into your heels, around 80%. Keep your gaze soft and steady, just like your breath.
Forward Fold (Uttanasana): Exhale as you hinge forward from the hips. If your hamstrings are tight, it’s okay to bend your knees. Otherwise, slowly straighten your legs. Rest your hands beside your feet and pull your nose to your knees. Engage your quadriceps and draw them up through the ceiling. The more you engage your quadriceps, the more your hamstrings will release.
Half Fold (Ardha Uttanasana): Inhale as you lift your torso halfway. Make sure to lengthen your spine forward so your back is flat. Your torso should be parallel to the floor. I like to bring my fingertips to my shins, but you can let them hang as well.
Plank (Chataranga Dandasana): Push your feet back, with your weight equally distributed between your feeet and hands. Keep your elbows directly over your wrists. Ensure you stomach is tight and your back is flat – never round your back. Slowly lower your body to hover a few inches above the floor. You can drop slowly all the way to your mat if you like.
Upward Facing Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana): Inhale and draw your chest forward while straightening your arms. Focus on drawing your shoulders back and lifting your heart to the sky. Ensure the tops of your feet are pressed against your mat – lifting your thighs off the mat and fully engaging your leg muscles. Make sure your elbows are tucked into your side and as always – breathe.
Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana): Exhale, lift your hips, and roll over your toes – placing the soles of your feet on the floor with equal balance. Ground down through your hands and the soles of your feet as you lengthen your spine. If your heels come down to the mat great, if not no big deal. Press your mat away from you as you lift through your pelvis. As you lengthen your spine, lift your sit bones through the ceiling. Finally, press down equally through your heels and the palms of your hands.
Warrior 1 (Adho Mukha Svanasana): Inhale as you step your right/left foot between your hands and bring your back heel to the ground. Bend your front knee while keeping your back leg straight. Check your front knee and make sure your knee is not tracking over your foot. Turn your front foot out 90 degrees, so your toes are pointing to the top of the mat & pivot your back foot inwards at a 45-degree angle. Align your front heel with the arch of your back foot, so we could draw a line from the front wall through your front heel and back arch to the back wall. Keep your pelvis turned toward the front of your mat. Raise your arms straight overhead and gaze to the sky. Make sure to tuck your tailbone so we avoid lower back injury. Your back leg should be perfectly straight with all parts of your foot pushing equally into your mat. Your front leg should be bent at a 90 degree angle & your weight should be equally balanced between both feet.
Last but most definitely not least, the most important part of practicing yoga is listening to yourself and paying attention to what your body is telling you. There is no need to push it farther than you feel comfortable. To me, this is the most important part of beginning a regular yoga practice.
I know yoga can be very intimidating to start, but believe me no one truly cares what you look like or how good you are. People only care that you are actively trying to improve your life. So let go of all the bad excuses and just start practicing. After all, we talking about practice man. Practice.
The LSU Tigers have secured their spot in the history books by defeating the Clemson Tigers 42 to 25 in last night’s National Championship game.
The media and public will have zero choice but to give Ed Orgeron the credit he deserves as one of the top college coaches. With this victory in New Orleans, he has successfully washed any lingering stench that was left from his past stays at Ole Miss & USC. The most cajun man in the world now has a national championship with the LSU Tigers – very fitting.
Lets shift our focus to the boys on the field & particularly Joe Burrow. He has been the top QB all season and did not dissapoint in the last game of the season.
Today’s viz is a horizontal bar chart that compares all starting QBs who have won a National Championship in the last 10 seasons. The length of the bar is passing yards, the width of the bar is completions, the color of the bar correaponds to team color, & the grey circle is TDs.
As you can see from this viz – Deshaun Watson is the only other QB that is even in the same class as Big Dick Joe. Burrow leads this group with 463 passing yards, 5 TDs & second to only Watson in completions (56 to 49).
We all know how great Burrow has been & didn’t need a viz to tell us that, but let’s jump into the viz and explore some interesting tid bits:
Who the hell is Jake Coker & how did he actually win a National Championship
Cardale Jones won a national championship only 5 years ago but has been out of the NFL for forever
AJ McCarron, Trent Richardson, & Fat Eddy Lacy lead the 2011 Alabama team to a championship – what odd NFL Careers all 3 of these players have had
Alabama & Clemson are machines that are not slowing down anytime soon
Deshaun Watson is easily the best pro on this list – but Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, & Tua have not played an NFL snap. I envision Burrow being the only one that can get to the same level as Watson as an NFL QB with Lawrence a distant 2nd and Tua coming in the 3rd spot.
Now, here we sit on January 14th at the end of another amazing college football season. It flew by faster than expected, but at least there is a silver lining to the end of this season – Ed O is officially a national champion and there’s nothing anyone can do to take that away from him.
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