March is not far away. Now is the time to take a longer look at numbers and how they will have a bearing come tournament time. Today’s stat is rebound margin. Taken on a game by game basis this number represents how many rebounds a team gets versus their opponent.
As of today – here are the leaders:
| Rank | Name | GM | W-L | REB | RPG | OPP REB | OPP RPG | REB MAR |
| 1 | Michigan St. | 24 | 20-4 | 949 | 39.5 | 707 | 29.5 | 10.1 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 25 | 23-2 | 998 | 39.9 | 752 | 30.1 | 9.8 |
| 3 | Washington | 25 | 19-6 | 1033 | 41.3 | 798 | 31.9 | 9.4 |
| 4 | Connecticut | 24 | 24-1 | 1002 | 41.8 | 785 | 32.7 | 9.0 |
| 5 | Xavier | 25 | 21-4 | 996 | 39.8 | 780 | 31.2 | 8.6 |
| 6 | Albany (N.Y.) | 26 | 13-13 | 1014 | 39.0 | 797 | 30.7 | 8.3 |
| 7 | Morehead St. | 27 | 16-11 | 1052 | 39.0 | 849 | 31.4 | 7.5 |
| 8 | Appalachian St. | 24 | 10-14 | 948 | 39.5 | 770 | 32.1 | 7.4 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 25 | 23-2 | 1064 | 42.6 | 881 | 35.2 | 7.3 |
| 10 | South Carolina St. | 23 | 11-12 | 919 | 40.0 | 752 | 32.7 | 7.3 |
We can find pretenders on that list, but we can also find contenders.
Why is this stat important? Let’s look at this time last year:
| Rank | Name | GM | W-L | REB | RPG | OPP REB | OPP RPG | REB MAR |
| 1 | North Carolina | 28 | 26-2 | 1255 | 44.8 | 920 | 32.9 | 12.0 |
| 2 | UCLA | 28 | 25-3 | 1024 | 36.6 | 749 | 26.8 | 9.8 |
| 3 | Stanford | 27 | 23-4 | 1060 | 39.3 | 809 | 30.0 | 9.3 |
| 4 | Kansas St. | 27 | 18-9 | 1138 | 42.1 | 901 | 33.4 | 8.8 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 28 | 21-7 | 1124 | 40.1 | 885 | 31.6 | 8.5 |
| 6 | New Mexico St. | 29 | 16-13 | 1175 | 40.5 | 935 | 32.2 | 8.3 |
| 7 | Michigan St. | 28 | 22-6 | 1061 | 37.9 | 840 | 30.0 | 7.9 |
| 8 | Indiana | 28 | 24-4 | 1070 | 38.2 | 854 | 30.5 | 7.7 |
| 9 | Albany (N.Y.) | 28 | 14-14 | 1059 | 37.8 | 845 | 30.2 | 7.6 |
| 10 | Sam Houston St. | 26 | 20-6 | 1078 | 41.5 | 882 | 33.9 | 7.5 |
Carolina and UCLA both made the Final Four. Stanford and Michigan both made the Sweet 16. Kansas was in the top 15 of rebound margin.
Two years ago:
| Rank | Name | GM | W-L | REB | RPG | OPP REB | OPP RPG | REB MAR |
| 1 | Vermont | 29 | 23-6 | 1192 | 41.1 | 909 | 31.3 | 9.8 |
| 2 | Washington | 27 | 16-11 | 1054 | 39.0 | 809 | 30.0 | 9.1 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 29 | 24-5 | 1215 | 41.9 | 953 | 32.9 | 9.0 |
| 4 | Michigan St. | 29 | 21-8 | 1045 | 36.0 | 793 | 27.3 | 8.7 |
| 5 | Kansas | 29 | 25-4 | 1176 | 40.6 | 938 | 32.3 | 8.2 |
| 6 | Davidson | 30 | 26-4 | 1234 | 41.1 | 990 | 33.0 | 8.1 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 28 | 21-7 | 1136 | 40.6 | 910 | 32.5 | 8.1 |
| 8 | Connecticut | 28 | 17-11 | 1192 | 42.6 | 975 | 34.8 | 7.8 |
| 9 | Florida | 29 | 25-4 | 1078 | 37.2 | 855 | 29.5 | 7.7 |
| 10 | Providence | 27 | 17-10 | 1019 | 37.7 | 812 | 30.1 | 7.7 |
Florida won the title that year. Carolina and Kansas were both Elite Eight teams.
Three years ago:
| Rank | Name | GM | W-L | REB | RPG | OPP REB | OPP RPG | REB MAR |
| 1 | Texas | 28 | 24-4 | 1146 | 40.9 | 844 | 30.1 | 10.8 |
| 2 | LSU | 27 | 20-7 | 1128 | 41.8 | 839 | 31.1 | 10.7 |
| 3 | Connecticut | 27 | 25-2 | 1214 | 45.0 | 926 | 34.3 | 10.7 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 26 | 20-6 | 967 | 37.2 | 708 | 27.2 | 10.0 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 25 | 19-6 | 999 | 40.0 | 777 | 31.1 | 8.9 |
| 6 | Col. of Charleston | 27 | 17-10 | 1123 | 41.6 | 887 | 32.9 | 8.7 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh | 26 | 21-5 | 1010 | 38.8 | 811 | 31.2 | 7.7 |
| 8 | Memphis | 28 | 26-2 | 1174 | 41.9 | 969 | 34.6 | 7.3 |
| 9 | St. John’s (N.Y.) | 25 | 12-13 | 960 | 38.4 | 780 | 31.2 | 7.2 |
| 10 | Illinois | 28 | 23-5 | 1037 | 37.0 | 839 | 30.0 | 7.1 |
LSU made the Final Four in 2006. They beat Texas in the Regional final. UConn lost by two to George Mason in the Regional final.
So many numbers to consider. 🙂
Stats courtesy of NCAA.com
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