Auburn's Horace Spencer holds the ball away from Tennessee's Admiral Schofield (5) and Grant Williams (2) in the second half of the NCAA college basketball SEC championship game Sunday, March 17, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee.
What it is:Â The frequency in which an offensive possession results in a turnover.Â
Why it matters: Dean Oliver, author of Basketball on Paper and prominent statistician, divides basketball into four critical categories — shooting, rebounding, free throws and turnovers — as a determinant of team quality. Using turnover percentage, rather than raw turnover numbers, helps factor for pace.
How it's calculated:Â Turnovers / field goal attempts + free throw attempts + turnovers
National leaders:Â Notre Dame has the lowest turnover percentage, at 11.9 percent.
How Arizona did:Â The Wildcats turned the ball over just 14.7 percent of the time, good for 69th nationally and second-best in the Pac-12.Â
