This week, the Garden City Community College basketball teams play at Seward County on Saturday evening, the official midway mark of the KJCCC season. Then, on Wednesday, the Broncbusters host Butler. Here’s a statistical look at the Busters and their upcoming opponents.
GCCC Men
The Busters’ offense has been one of the best in the Jayhawk Conference, in the top three for points per possession, expected field goal percentage and turnovers. However, their one weakness is getting to the free-throw line, where they are second-to-last in the conference.
They also had their worst offensive performance, by far, in conference play at Colby on Wednesday, when they scored just 0.83 points per possession.
Record: 11-5, 7-5 (tied for 6th in KJCCC)
Offense
Points per possession: 1.06 (tied for 3rd)
Expected FG%: 52.2 (1st)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 18.0 (2nd)
Free-throw rate: 19.8 (13th)
Defense
Points per possession: 1.01 (tied for 5th)
Expected FG%: 45.3 (4th)
Turnover per 100 possessions: 16.1 (11th)
Seward County
The Saints may be the conference’s best defensive squad, giving up just 70.9 points per game, second-best in the KJCCC. But the advanced numbers are even kinder to Seward, whose defense is tied for first for points allowed per possession, tops in expected field goal percentage allowed and fourth in turnovers created per 100 possessions.
All of that creates a stiff matchup for the Busters, who would like to rebound from Wednesday’s disappointing loss to Colby. A pair of forwards provide the Saints much of their offense in freshman Isiah Small and sophomore Ke’Sean Davis.
Record: 11-5, 7-5 (t6)
Offense
Points per possession: 0.95 (10th)
Expected FG%: 48.2 (8th)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 22.3 (12th)
Free-throw rate: 23.0 (10th)
Defense
Points per possession: 0.86 (tied for 1st)
Expected FG%: 36.0 (1st)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 21.7 (4th)
Butler
The Grizzlies and Busters met in the conference opener on Nov. 11 in El Dorado, with Garden City rolling to a 75-59 rout. The Busters could potentially be in line for a similar performance, given the Grizzlies’ struggles on defense, in which they are in the bottom third of the conference in points per possession and expected field goal percentage.
In the Nov. 11 matchup, the Busters averaged 1.16 points per possession. The Grizzlies, one of the faster-paced teams in the conference, have four players scoring in double digits, led by sophomore Ketarrious Bouchum’s 17.1.
Record: 7-8, 4-8 (tied for 9th)
Offense
Points per possession: 1.03 (7th)
Expected FG%: 43.7 (6th)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 20.7 (11th)
Free-throw rate: 30.3 (3rd)
Defense
Points per possession: 1.05 (tied for 11th)
Expected FG%: 51.8 (13th)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 20.1 (6th)
GCCC Women
The Buster women’s biggest strength on offense is their ability to hold onto the ball, which has plagued nearly every single team in the conference. KJCCC teams are turning it over on more than 25 percent (28.1 percent) of their possessions, while the Busters are better at 22.9 percent.
Cowley leads that statistic, turning it over on just 21.8 percent of their trips down the court.
However, the Busters are struggling to shoot the ball effectively, making just 37.1 percent of their shots overall and they have a 41 percent effective field goal percentage. They are helped by crashing the boards and getting more offensive boards than the average KJCCC team.
Record: 10-6, 7-5 (tied for 6th in KJCCC)
Offense
Points per possession: 0.86 (9th)
Expected FG%: 41.0 (10th)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 22.9 (2nd)
Free-throw rate: 18.7 (9th)
Defense
Points per possession: 0.86 (8th)
Expected FG%: 40.6 (11th)
Turnover per 100 possessions: 26.1 (8th)
No. 13 Seward County
Riding an efficient offense and an aggressive defense, the Saints are one of the top teams in the conference and the nation once again.
They lead the KJCCC in points per possession and expected field goal percentage on offense, and are creating the most turnovers in the league on defense.
The Saints’ offense is perhaps better than any other team’s attack by an order of magnitude, as no other team is within .12 points per possession. That will give a big test for the Busters, whose defense head coach Charinee Mitchell derided on Wednesday, despite their blowout win of Colby.
Record: 14-2, 10-2 (tied for 1st)
Offense
Points per possession: 1.06 (1st)
Expected FG%: 55.5 (1st)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 24.4 (4th)
Free-throw rate: 15.7 (14th)
Defense
Points per possession: 0.72 (3rd)
Expected FG%: 34.1 (4th)
Turnover per 100 possessions: 31.8 (1st)
Butler
Just like Seward County, the Grizzlies are particularly adept at creating turnovers on defense, which helps them allow just 0.76 points per possession. That stalwart defense has made up for the Grizzlies otherwise mediocre offense, which is led a pair of scorers, sophomore guard Ericka Mattingly (13.5) and freshman forward Kyla Collins (13.1).
The Busters beat Butler in the conference opener, 77-53, on Nov. 11.
Record: 10-5, 7-5 (tied for 6th)
Offense
Points per possession: 0.90 (tied for 6th)
Expected FG%: 40.4 (tied for 4th)
Turnovers per 100 possessions: 26.7 (8th)
Free-throw rate: 23.2 (tied for 5th)
Defense
Points per possession: 0.76 (tied for 4th)
Expected FG%: 33.9 (3rd)
Turnover per 100 possessions: 31.0 (3rd)