Bonus plus-minus: Maryland-Utah

Here’s some statistical intrigue for you from Maryland‘s 71-56 defeat of Utah in the NCAA tournament’s second round at Comcast Center.

Tonight’s game had three distinct stretches for Maryland, some of them spliced up into bits.

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One was Maryland going with three guards.

The second was Maryland going with four guards.

The third was garbage time, the final 2:38 when Maryland subbed out Kristi Toliver, Marissa Coleman and Marah Strickland.

Let’s put this, as is my wont, in chart form

Scenario	Time	Score (M-U)	Margin
Three-guard	12:40	19-21	-2
Four-guard	24:42	52-30	+22
Garbage time	2:38	0-5	-5

That about answers what made the difference for the Terps more than any plus-minus chart ever could.

Maryland went small (well, relatively small) and generally used its top three guards and either Anjale Barrett (for a good chunk of the first half) or Kim Rodgers (for much of the second half). That turned out to work rather well.

But just for fun, here’s a plus-minus chart anyway as I wrap up things from Comcast Center (where the tape that covered the men’s 3-point line has already been balled up and is in the process of being hauled away):

Player	1st half	2nd half	Total	Min.
5-Strickland	+16	+6	+22	34
10-Barrett	+20	-10	+10	16
12-Kizer	+1	+9	+10	21
13-Liles	+10	-7	+3	31
14-Oyefuwa	DNP	-5	-5	3
20-Toliver	+16	+4	+20	37
22-Rodgers	+1	-1	0	18
24-Mingo	DNP	-5	-5	3
25-Coleman	+16	+4	+20	37

—- Patrick Stevens