Date of Project

5-17-2022

Document Type

Honors Thesis

School Name

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Mathematics

Major Advisor

Dr. Michael Ackerman

Abstract

At the conclusion of each basketball season, each conference selects 1st, 2nd, and sometimes 3rd all-conference teams based on player performance for that season. Often, these all-conference teams reflect biases in the media rather than evaluations based on player performance alone. The baseball statistic Wins Above Replacement, WAR, is useful in quantifying the impact of each player through the number of wins contributed to his respective team by comparing each player to a designated replacement level player. This statistic can also be applied to basketball analysis to perform a similar function as in baseball, despite a vastly different formulation. However, the WAR statistic has limitations in its player analysis in basketball, particularly through failing to include defensive statistics and having no established definition of a replacement player. In this paper, I utilize the Wins Above Replacement statistic along with other key statistics, particularly in the defensive aspect of the game, to create an econometric model to better determine which players contributed the most to their team’s success. These statistics determine which players should be selected to the all-conference team at the end of the collegiate basketball season.

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