Eric Musselman goes on rant over computer data, outdated rules in college basketball

USC coach Eric Musselman might not be a big fan of computer data, metrics and rankings to be frank.

Some of these metrics, when weighing the best teams and how they stack up based on wins and losses, could be outdated, according to the Trojans’ coach. Even something as simple as margin of victory could set off Musselman on a tirade.

He did so a bit following USC’s upset win over Big Ten foe Michigan State.

“And I think our team’s done not a good job of that, but great. Like, they don’t look past an opponent,” Musselman said postgame. “I think we as a group really understand that the only way for us to win is to be ultra focused. We’re maybe out talented at times, maybe deeper benches that we’re playing. Just play for 40 minutes and see where it comes out. But I can tell you the numbers, the KenPom and all that, I don’t even want to get into it, but come on. Like, you beat somebody in non conference by 30, and that holds more weight than beating them by 10. It’s a joke how those numbers go.” 

That’s when Musselman elaborated on the metrics throughout college basketball and where USC could stand.

“Sorry, I mean, I don’t want to say anything else other than I’ve been on the flip side of it too, like don’t think for a minute that we haven’t got a good seed or got a good pairing in the tournament because of stuff that’s really not real,” Musselman said.

Eric Musselman doesn’t want to hear about computers

“A computer doesn’t understand basketball, so how’s the computer deciding who should be in the tournament? It’s unfathomable. Doesn’t happen in any other walk of life, to my knowledge, and if it does, I’d love to know what it is, but that doesn’t make any sense to schedule and … College basketball is about development. How are you supposed to develop younger players if you beat teams by 30 and that has something to do with your resume at the end of the year? It doesn’t even make sense. It’s college basketball.” 

Musselman continued his point about college basketball development and not building resumes, thereby hindering development in some scenarios.

“It’s about developing. You get young players. How do they get an opportunity,” Musselman said. “It affects the way you sub. It affects the way you develop players. But no one wants to talk about it because basketball is run by people who’ve been doing it for a whole long time. We don’t have four quarters. Why? Everybody else in the world has four quarters. 

“You call a time out, you advance the ball. It’s better for basketball. But some guys don’t want to do that because that would put pressure on you. It’s really hard to coach that way. So that’s my rant on college basketball.”