Big East advanced stat wrapup, Part III: Ball handling and percentage of shots

The final part of a three-piece advanced stat look back at this past Big East season will focus on ball handling, using the lens of assist rates and assist-to-turnover ratios, and a percentage of shots taken and conceded by each team. In the first two segments of this review, tempo and efficiency were highlighted, as were the Four Factors in the ensuing second metric. Only the 18-game conference season was taken into account for statistical purposes, and any and all stats reflected within this post were gleaned from the individual stat pages or final game notes of each school.

Assist rates, from highest to lowest:
1) Georgetown (60.3 percent)
2) Xavier (59.5)
3) Marquette (58.7)
4) Creighton (56.8)
5) Providence (56.7)
6) Villanova (52.9)
7) Seton Hall (51.1)
8) DePaul (46.9)
9) Butler (46.54)
10) St. John's (46.46)

Assist-to-turnover ratios, from highest to lowest:
1) Creighton (1.35:1)
2) Marquette (1.34:1)
3) Butler (1.2:1)
4) Villanova (1.18:1)
5) Xavier (1.13:1)
6) Providence (1.11:1)
7) Georgetown (1.07:1)
8) Seton Hall (0.96:1)
9) St. John's (0.94:1)
10) DePaul (0.79:1)

Analysis: Question marks prefaced Marquette's point guard situation following the departure of Traci Carter, who has since transferred to La Salle. However, the Golden Eagles managed to overcome the loss of the Philadelphia native by being the most fundamentally sound team in terms of not only sharing the ball, but controlling it as well. Three of Steve Wojciechowski's guards recorded assist-to-turnover ratios of 2:1 or greater, as Katin Reinhardt, Andrew Rowsey and Duane Wilson all chipped in to provide steady hands in Marquette's uptempo offense. Creighton, always one to be smart with the basketball in its hands, also deserves mounds of credit for maintaining the status quo after Maurice Watson was lost for the season with a torn ACL in January. The contributions of Khyri Thomas and Davion Mintz to facilitate production for Justin Patton and Marcus Foster went a long way in the Bluejays being one of seven teams carrying the Big East banner in the NCAA Tournament.

Percentage of shots, with schools listed in alphabetical order, followed by a breakdown of two-point field goals, three-point field goals and free throws, from left to right:
Butler: 46.1% 2-pt FG, 27.4% 3-pt FG, 26.5% FT
Creighton: 51.0% 2-pt FG, 28.6% 3-pt FG, 20.4% FT
DePaul: 50.8% 2-pt FG, 25.1% 3-pt FG, 24.1% FT
Georgetown: 48.5% 2-pt FG, 24.4% 3-pt FG, 27.1% FT
Marquette: 44.4% 2-pt FG, 31.9% 3-pt FG, 23.7% FT
Providence: 46.7% 2-pt FG, 24.1% 3-pt FG, 29.2% FT
St. John's: 46.6% 2-pt FG, 25.9% 3-pt FG, 27.5% FT
Seton Hall: 48.6% 2-pt FG, 25.3% 3-pt FG, 26.1% FT
Villanova: 41.7% FG, 32.4% 3-pt FG, 25.9% FT
Xavier: 43.8% 2-pt FG, 24.8% 3-pt FG, 31.4% FT

Percentage of shots against, with schools listed in alphabetical order, followed by a breakdown of two-point field goals, three-point field goals and free throws, from left to right:
Butler: 44.5% 2-pt FG, 28.3% 3-pt FG, 27.2% FT
Creighton: 48.6% 2-pt FG, 27.8% 3-pt FG, 23.5% FT
DePaul: 41.3% 2-pt FG, 28.8% 3-pt FG, 29.9% FT
Georgetown: 48.0% 2-pt FG, 22.7% 3-pt FG, 29.3% FT
Marquette: 47.8% 2-pt FG, 26.1% 3-pt FG, 26.2% FT
Providence: 50.9% 2-pt FG, 26.2% 3-pt FG, 22.9% FT
St. John's: 46.4% 2-pt FG, 23.7% 3-pt FG, 29.9% FT
Seton Hall: 49.9% 2-pt FG, 24.5% 3-pt FG, 25.6% FT
Villanova: 46.5% 2-pt FG, 33.2% 3-pt FG, 20.3% FT
Xavier: 45.1% 2-pt FG, 29.1% 3-pt FG, 25.8% FT