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Stat Watch: The numbers behind Jon “Big Sleep” Teske’s offensive awakening

It’s generally accepted that Jon Teske is a superior defender to Moe Wagner. He might be better on offense, too.

By Sam Dodge
NCAA Basketball: Michigan at Indiana Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It was generally accepted before the season that Jon Teske would be a defensive upgrade over Moe Wagner, but a step back on offense.

The former is eminently true. Teske blocks more shots, fouls less and just held Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ to his lowest offensive rating* (80) of the year — pretty much one-on-one.

Don’t look now, but he’s more than just coping on offense. He’s nationally elite.

First off, the 7-footer is the best player in the country as the roller or popper on ball screens.

According to UMHoops, he leads the country with 102 points this season (or 1.24 points on average) on such plays.

This was supremely evident Saturday as Michigan crawled out of an early deficit against Wisconsin on two Teske rolls in a matter of minutes.

He’s also tops in the nation in turnover percentage. He coughs up the ball on just five percent of possessions.

To put it into perspective, he’s recorded just two giveaways in 11 games since the start of the new year.

Factors like these lead to Teske’s 129.4 offensive rating in Big Ten play, and 121.3 rating overall. This is second just to Purdue’s Matt Haarms.

Wagner, for comparison’s sake, earned a 116.1 rating in conference and 114.8 rating nationally. While this was on 24.5 percent usage (compared to 16.7 percent for Teske), the fear of a Teske offensive downgrade is a thing of the past.

While the pick-and-roll is his bread and butter, he copes as a shooter, as well.

  • He boasts a 55.5 effective field goal percentage (No. 320 nationally). This includes a 58.5 percent mark from two.
  • Behind the arc, he’s starting to reach near Wagner levels. So far in conference play, he has connected on 12-of-31 threes (38.7 percent). Meanwhile, Wagner hit 26-of-65 (40 percent) during his sophomore season.

Teske’s double-double against Ethan Happ passed the eye test, placing him amongst the best big men in the country.

The numbers support this, too.

Offensive rating is a player’s personal points per possession.

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