Why is P/BB so variable?

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DavidB256
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Why is P/BB so variable?

Post by DavidB256 »

Looking at the stats for the 2019 PACE NSC, I noticed that the P/BB (points per bounceback) statistic correlates very poorly with both overall placement and P/B (points per bonus). I understand that P/BB is a function of both the skill of the team and the skill of the teams they play against (playing against better teams would decrease your P/BB because they are more likely to get all of the easier bonus parts), but I don't understand how that can lead to some of the existing results. For example, the Championship bracket had a range of 4.49 P/BB, the 9-16 bracket had a range of 4.74 P/BB, and my team, which got 59th, had more P/BB than DCC A.

Does anyone know why this is?
David Bass (he)
Johns Hopkins University
University of Virginia '23
Jamestown High School '19
Member, PACE
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Santa Claus
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Re: Why is P/BB so variable?

Post by Santa Claus »

DavidB256 wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 8:04 pm I understand that P/BB is a function of both the skill of the team and the skill of the teams they play against (playing against better teams would decrease your P/BB because they are more likely to get all of the easier bonus parts)
Kevin Wang
Arcadia High School 2015
Amherst College 2019

2018 PACE NSC Champion
2019 PACE NSC Champion
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Cody
2008-09 Male Athlete of the Year
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Re: Why is P/BB so variable?

Post by Cody »

As noted, bouncebacks are extremely opponent-dependent and won't tend to average out over a large sample size like other statistics such as PPG because there isn't a large sample size as compared to the variability in getting the bounceback correct.

Another consideration is that (iirc) SQBS reports bouncebacks as a function of fractions of a bonus. You have to divide P/BB by 3 to get points per bounceback. This greatly reduces the range and the other usual statistics (std dev).
Cody Voight, VCU ’14.
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