Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A New Blog:  Big Ten Geeks

Villanova by the Numbers guest poster Ray Floriani dropped me a note Monday (Bonnies fans be sure to check out Ray's post, "Statistical Analysis: St. Bonaventure" over at the College Chalktalk Blog) about a new Big Ten Conference basketball blog, Big Ten Geeks.

Back in 2005 blogger John Gasaway cranked up the Big Ten Wonk Blog with the promise to produce a (nearly) daily report (during the season of course) on the state of the Big Ten basketball conference. Alternating straight reporting with analysis powered by Dean Oliver's possession-based statistics and occasionally adapting John Holloway's NBA stats to the NCAA, filtered with a perspective that many admire but few can emulate, Gasaway kept the party going for three seasons. The Wonk shuttered his blog officially on April 3, 2007 as he moved on to a series of collaborations with Ken Pomeroy over at The Basketball Prospectus. Josh & Mike picked up the torch last month and have rekindled the BT Wonk's mission to provide statistical insight on the teams of the Big Ten. They may not have Gasaway's flare (who does?), but they definitely have the numbers. I have been reading Josh's team-by-team previews and come away impressed with his grasp of the details and his ability to work with the stats to provide insight. Those Wildcat (Villanova here, not Northwestern...) fans who are interested in a good heads-up on the Nits, a possible opponent in The Philly Classic next November might want to check out The Geek's take at "2008-09 Preview: Penn State".

I have added these guys to my "Notable Blogs" sidebar, and I wish them the best of luck!

1 comment:

Josh said...

Thanks for the link, and the endorsement!