Data mining: How coaches gauge success by glancing at a box score

When Kansas coach Bill Self returns to the locker room after a game, he already has a pretty good feel for what went right and what went wrong for the Jayhawks just by having watched the game unfold in front of him.

But it isn't until Self gets his hands on a box score that he can confidently deliver the correct message to his team - and then to his adoring public at the postgame news conference.

All it takes is a look at a few variables on the stat sheet - and Self checks the same ones after each contest. Those numbers routinely spell out whether his team's performance was aligned with his basketball philosophy.

If you're curious, here's a hint: "I don't ever look at our field-goal percentage," he says.

Read more.