Sports – FiveThirtyEight RSS



Can Iowa’s High-Flying Offense Overcome Its Porous Defense?

On offense, the Iowa men’s basketball team sure looks like a national title contender. Entering Tuesday’s games, the Hawkeyes led Division I teams in adjusted offensive efficiency on Ken Pomeroy’s site. They own four of the top 35 offensive single-game performances of the season, adjusted for opponent quality. They rank fourth in the country in […]

Continue reading



Don’t Count Out Serena Yet

First, we recap the results of the Australian Open. Naomi Osaka earned her fourth Grand Slam after defeating Serena Williams in the semifinals and Jen Brady in the finals. This result certainly doesn’t mean Serena is done with tennis — no matter how much her cutting short a post-match press conference might suggest otherwise. She […]

Continue reading




How The Best NBA Teams Juggle Their Lineups

If they could, most NBA coaches would simply play their best players for 48 minutes a game, every game. After all, it’s the stars who largely drive team performance, and most teams are at their best when their best guys are on the floor. Of course, we know that can’t happen. The science of minutes […]

Continue reading



Alabama Is Looking Like An SEC Powerhouse … In Basketball

The all-consuming wave of the Alabama Crimson Tide was supposed to dissipate in January after Nick Saban claimed his seventh national title. Instead, it appears to have swelled and swallowed the SEC again, this time on a different field of play. Shortly after capping its best season in program history on the gridiron, Alabama is […]

Continue reading