And the sound that I'm hearing is only the sound of the low spark of high heeled boys. "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" - Traffic
← Scoring

Scoring Volatility

How much a team's game margins swing — the standard deviation of margin.

Sample standard deviation of per-game scoring margin. Low volatility means consistent performances; high volatility means blowouts mixed with duds, which makes a team's record less predictive.

Lower is better  ·  league avg 13.6  ·  as of 2021-04-06

Does it predict winners?

Weak standalone predictor of the winner.

See the game-by-game scatter on the Predictor page →

Team Distribution

Season-to-date value for every team, with a density curve.

min 6.3 max 22.4 mean 13.6 std 2.5 (n=348)

Team Rankings

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# Team Scoring Volatility z Pctl GP
1 Siena 6.3 -2.90 100 17
2 Chattanooga 7.3 -2.52 100 24
3 Little Rock 8.3 -2.12 99 25
4 UMBC 8.5 -2.05 99 20
5 UT Arlington 8.5 -2.04 99 23
6 Wichita State 8.6 -2.01 99 20
7 Texas State 8.7 -1.96 98 23
8 Northern Kentucky 8.7 -1.94 98 25
9 Oklahoma State 9.0 -1.83 98 30
10 James Madison 9.1 -1.80 97 17
11 West Virginia 9.4 -1.70 97 29
12 Hofstra 9.5 -1.64 97 23
13 Tennessee State 9.6 -1.61 97 22
14 Winthrop 9.6 -1.59 96 25
15 UAlbany 9.7 -1.58 96 16
16 Milwaukee 9.8 -1.54 96 22
17 Hampton 9.8 -1.54 95 25
18 UL Monroe 9.8 -1.53 95 26
19 South Alabama 10.0 -1.46 95 24
20 Georgia State 10.0 -1.45 95 20
21 UC Davis 10.0 -1.45 94 17
22 Marist 10.0 -1.45 94 21
23 Dayton 10.0 -1.44 94 24
24 Cal State Fullerton 10.0 -1.44 93 15
25 Robert Morris 10.0 -1.43 93 18
26 NJIT 10.0 -1.43 93 19
27 Howard 10.0 -1.43 93 5
28 Manhattan 10.1 -1.41 92 20
29 Montana 10.1 -1.38 92 23
30 Cal Poly 10.2 -1.36 92 23
31 New Hampshire 10.2 -1.35 91 18
32 Fairleigh Dickinson 10.3 -1.34 91 24
33 Lafayette 10.3 -1.33 91 15
34 Idaho 10.3 -1.33 90 22
35 Hawai'i 10.3 -1.33 90 19
36 Lehigh 10.3 -1.31 90 15
37 Rhode Island 10.3 -1.31 90 25
38 Denver 10.3 -1.31 89 20
39 Richmond 10.3 -1.30 89 22
40 Charleston Southern 10.4 -1.29 89 20
41 Arkansas State 10.6 -1.21 88 21
42 Louisiana 10.6 -1.21 88 24
43 Towson 10.6 -1.21 88 18
44 Delaware 10.6 -1.19 88 14
45 Montana State 10.6 -1.18 87 21
46 North Dakota State 10.7 -1.18 87 27
47 Morgan State 10.7 -1.18 87 19
48 Indiana State 10.7 -1.15 86 24
49 Jacksonville State 10.7 -1.14 86 25
50 American University 10.8 -1.14 86 10
51 Bryant 10.9 -1.09 86 21
52 Navy 10.9 -1.06 85 18
53 St. Francis Brooklyn 11.0 -1.04 85 19
54 Saint Francis 11.0 -1.04 85 22
55 Marshall 11.0 -1.03 84 22
56 Penn State 11.1 -1.02 84 25
57 Texas 11.2 -0.97 84 28
58 UCF 11.2 -0.96 84 23
59 Merrimack 11.3 -0.94 83 18
60 North Dakota 11.3 -0.94 83 26
61 UNC Greensboro 11.3 -0.93 83 30
62 Stony Brook 11.3 -0.93 82 22
63 Missouri 11.3 -0.92 82 26
64 Saint Peter's 11.3 -0.91 82 25
65 Old Dominion 11.3 -0.91 82 22
66 Florida A&M 11.3 -0.91 81 20
67 Alabama State 11.4 -0.90 81 18
68 East Carolina 11.4 -0.90 81 18
69 Eastern Washington 11.4 -0.87 80 23
70 Coastal Carolina 11.4 -0.86 80 22
71 Austin Peay 11.5 -0.84 80 25
72 Long Island University 11.5 -0.84 80 18
73 Georgia Tech 11.5 -0.83 79 27
74 UCLA 11.6 -0.82 79 32
75 Loyola Maryland 11.6 -0.82 79 17
76 Wofford 11.6 -0.81 78 22
77 Sacramento State 11.6 -0.79 78 18
78 St. John's 11.7 -0.75 78 27
79 UMass Lowell 11.7 -0.75 78 23
80 Temple 11.7 -0.75 77 16
81 Tulsa 11.7 -0.75 77 21
82 Butler 11.8 -0.72 77 25
83 Kennesaw State 11.8 -0.71 76 21
84 Niagara 11.8 -0.71 76 20
85 Oregon 11.9 -0.69 76 29
86 Kansas City 11.9 -0.69 76 20
87 Oregon State 11.9 -0.67 75 32
88 Southeast Missouri State 12.0 -0.66 75 27
89 Lipscomb 12.0 -0.66 75 23
90 Loyola Marymount 12.0 -0.65 74 22
91 Michigan 12.0 -0.65 74 28
92 Utah Valley 12.0 -0.64 74 20
93 Ohio State 12.0 -0.63 73 31
94 Samford 12.1 -0.61 73 17
95 Central Connecticut 12.1 -0.60 73 21
96 UConn 12.1 -0.59 73 23
97 Northern Colorado 12.1 -0.59 72 19
98 Santa Clara 12.1 -0.59 72 19
99 Southern Utah 12.2 -0.58 72 19
100 Presbyterian 12.2 -0.57 71 21
101 Longwood 12.3 -0.54 71 28
102 Oral Roberts 12.3 -0.54 71 26
103 Georgia Southern 12.3 -0.54 71 22
104 Nevada 12.3 -0.53 70 25
105 Evansville 12.3 -0.52 70 25
106 Memphis 12.4 -0.49 70 28
107 Western Kentucky 12.4 -0.49 69 29
108 South Dakota State 12.4 -0.48 69 22
109 Mount St. Mary's 12.4 -0.48 69 23
110 UC Riverside 12.4 -0.47 69 22
111 Duquesne 12.4 -0.47 68 18
112 Idaho State 12.5 -0.47 68 19
113 Southern Miss 12.5 -0.46 68 23
114 Detroit Mercy 12.5 -0.46 67 22
115 Miami 12.5 -0.46 67 27
116 East Tennessee State 12.5 -0.46 67 23
117 Drexel 12.5 -0.45 67 20
118 Jacksonville 12.5 -0.45 66 22
119 North Florida 12.5 -0.44 66 21
120 Purdue Fort Wayne 12.5 -0.44 66 23
121 Youngstown State 12.5 -0.44 65 23
122 Rider 12.5 -0.43 65 23
123 Monmouth 12.6 -0.42 65 20
124 Purdue 12.6 -0.41 65 28
125 Northeastern 12.6 -0.41 64 19
126 Middle Tennessee 12.6 -0.40 64 22
127 Kent State 12.7 -0.35 64 22
128 Western Carolina 12.7 -0.35 63 25
129 North Carolina Central 12.8 -0.34 63 13
130 Akron 12.8 -0.33 63 21
131 VCU 12.8 -0.32 63 27
132 Southern Illinois 12.8 -0.32 62 25
133 Tulane 12.9 -0.30 62 23
134 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 12.9 -0.30 62 21
135 Gardner-Webb 12.9 -0.29 61 26
136 UIC 12.9 -0.29 61 22
137 VMI 13.0 -0.26 61 22
138 Quinnipiac 13.0 -0.26 61 22
139 Eastern Illinois 13.0 -0.25 60 27
140 South Carolina Upstate 13.0 -0.24 60 22
141 Queens University 13.1 -0.23 60 3
142 Northern Iowa 13.1 -0.22 59 23
143 Pittsburgh 13.1 -0.22 59 22
144 Gonzaga 13.1 -0.22 59 32
145 Bradley 13.1 -0.20 59 26
146 Fresno State 13.1 -0.20 58 22
147 IU Indianapolis 13.1 -0.19 58 18
148 Mercer 13.2 -0.19 58 26
149 UC San Diego 13.2 -0.18 57 14
150 Fordham 13.2 -0.16 57 14
151 Canisius 13.2 -0.15 57 13
152 Kentucky 13.3 -0.13 56 25
153 Charleston 13.3 -0.13 56 17
154 Duke 13.3 -0.11 56 25
155 Iowa State 13.4 -0.11 56 24
156 Alabama 13.4 -0.11 55 33
157 Missouri State 13.4 -0.10 55 22
158 Valparaiso 13.4 -0.10 55 26
159 Georgetown 13.4 -0.09 54 26
160 DePaul 13.4 -0.09 54 19
161 Cal State Bakersfield 13.4 -0.09 54 24
162 Houston Christian 13.4 -0.08 54 24
163 Maine 13.4 -0.08 53 9
164 California 13.4 -0.08 53 28
165 Villanova 13.4 -0.08 53 25
166 Charlotte 13.5 -0.07 52 24
167 St. Bonaventure 13.5 -0.06 52 21
168 California Baptist 13.5 -0.05 52 19
169 Campbell 13.5 -0.05 52 25
170 App State 13.5 -0.05 51 25
171 Wagner 13.5 -0.05 51 20
172 Liberty 13.5 -0.04 51 25
173 Texas Southern 13.6 -0.02 50 25
174 Buffalo 13.6 -0.02 50 25
175 High Point 13.6 -0.02 50 24
176 Bellarmine 13.6 -0.02 50 20
177 Green Bay 13.6 -0.01 49 25
178 Weber State 13.6 -0.01 49 20
179 Stetson 13.6 -0.00 49 24
180 Cincinnati 13.6 -0.00 48 23
181 The Citadel 13.6 -0.00 48 21
182 Seton Hall 13.6 +0.01 48 27
183 Providence 13.6 +0.01 48 26
184 UC Santa Barbara 13.7 +0.02 47 25
185 Loyola Chicago 13.7 +0.02 47 29
186 Rutgers 13.7 +0.02 47 28
187 Eastern Kentucky 13.7 +0.03 46 27
188 TCU 13.7 +0.03 46 26
189 Omaha 13.7 +0.03 46 25
190 Notre Dame 13.8 +0.05 46 26
191 Saint Joseph's 13.8 +0.08 45 20
192 UNLV 13.9 +0.09 45 25
193 Florida State 13.9 +0.09 45 26
194 Auburn 13.9 +0.09 44 27
195 San Diego State 13.9 +0.11 44 27
196 Belmont 14.0 +0.13 44 30
197 Hartford 14.0 +0.13 44 24
198 Nicholls 14.0 +0.15 43 24
199 Pepperdine 14.0 +0.15 43 25
200 Tarleton State 14.0 +0.16 43 15
201 Indiana 14.1 +0.17 42 27
202 UNC Wilmington 14.1 +0.18 42 16
203 Troy 14.1 +0.18 42 25
204 USC 14.1 +0.19 41 33
205 Grambling 14.1 +0.19 41 23
206 Air Force 14.1 +0.20 41 25
207 Grand Canyon 14.1 +0.20 41 21
208 Davidson 14.2 +0.22 40 21
209 Arizona State 14.2 +0.22 40 25
210 New Mexico State 14.2 +0.23 40 17
211 Toledo 14.2 +0.23 39 30
212 Binghamton 14.2 +0.24 39 18
213 Florida Atlantic 14.2 +0.24 39 19
214 Colorado 14.3 +0.25 39 32
215 Louisiana Tech 14.3 +0.26 38 31
216 UTEP 14.3 +0.26 38 21
217 Radford 14.3 +0.27 38 25
218 Washington State 14.3 +0.28 37 27
219 Northwestern State 14.4 +0.29 37 28
220 Washington 14.4 +0.29 37 26
221 Long Beach State 14.4 +0.30 37 18
222 Western Michigan 14.4 +0.31 36 20
223 Florida Gulf Coast 14.4 +0.32 36 16
224 Florida 14.5 +0.33 36 25
225 Portland 14.5 +0.33 35 18
226 Fairfield 14.5 +0.34 35 27
227 Incarnate Word 14.5 +0.34 35 19
228 Alabama A&M 14.5 +0.35 35 15
229 Holy Cross 14.5 +0.36 34 16
230 South Florida 14.6 +0.37 34 21
231 Tennessee Tech 14.6 +0.39 34 27
232 UNC Asheville 14.6 +0.40 33 20
233 Iona 14.7 +0.42 33 18
234 Chicago State 14.7 +0.43 33 9
235 Boston University 14.7 +0.44 33 18
236 Michigan State 14.8 +0.45 32 28
237 McNeese 14.8 +0.46 32 18
238 New Mexico 14.8 +0.47 32 20
239 Cal State Northridge 14.8 +0.47 31 21
240 Maryland 14.8 +0.48 31 30
241 Central Arkansas 14.8 +0.48 31 23
242 William & Mary 14.9 +0.49 31 17
243 Baylor 14.9 +0.49 30 30
244 SE Louisiana 14.9 +0.49 30 26
245 Marquette 14.9 +0.49 30 27
246 Central Michigan 14.9 +0.51 29 20
247 Boston College 14.9 +0.52 29 20
248 New Orleans 15.0 +0.52 29 24
249 UT Martin 15.0 +0.54 29 23
250 George Washington 15.0 +0.55 28 17
251 Oklahoma 15.0 +0.55 28 27
252 Creighton 15.1 +0.56 28 31
253 Elon 15.1 +0.58 27 18
254 Portland State 15.1 +0.59 27 18
255 Western Illinois 15.1 +0.59 27 21
256 Arizona 15.1 +0.59 27 26
257 Bowling Green 15.1 +0.60 26 25
258 Vermont 15.1 +0.60 26 15
259 Abilene Christian 15.2 +0.61 26 25
260 South Dakota 15.2 +0.61 25 24
261 Virginia 15.2 +0.62 25 26
262 Utah Tech 15.2 +0.62 25 19
263 Texas A&M 15.2 +0.64 24 18
264 Sacred Heart 15.3 +0.65 24 18
265 Utah 15.3 +0.66 24 25
266 Massachusetts 15.3 +0.67 24 15
267 Houston 15.3 +0.67 23 31
268 Army 15.3 +0.68 23 21
269 San Diego 15.4 +0.69 23 14
270 Stanford 15.4 +0.69 22 27
271 Ole Miss 15.4 +0.70 22 28
272 Delaware State 15.4 +0.70 22 17
273 Wright State 15.5 +0.73 22 24
274 North Carolina 15.5 +0.73 21 29
275 UAB 15.5 +0.74 21 27
276 SMU 15.5 +0.74 21 17
277 Northern Illinois 15.5 +0.75 20 19
278 Lamar 15.5 +0.75 20 28
279 Kansas State 15.5 +0.75 20 28
280 Saint Mary's 15.5 +0.76 20 24
281 Murray State 15.6 +0.77 19 24
282 Wisconsin 15.6 +0.78 19 31
283 BYU 15.6 +0.78 19 26
284 Coppin State 15.7 +0.84 18 22
285 North Alabama 15.8 +0.85 18 20
286 Stephen F. Austin 15.8 +0.85 18 18
287 Norfolk State 15.8 +0.87 18 24
288 Xavier 15.8 +0.87 17 21
289 Georgia 15.8 +0.87 17 25
290 Vanderbilt 15.9 +0.89 17 25
291 Morehead State 15.9 +0.92 16 29
292 Virginia Tech 16.0 +0.95 16 22
293 Syracuse 16.1 +1.00 16 28
294 Clemson 16.2 +1.01 16 24
295 Northern Arizona 16.2 +1.01 15 22
296 UC Irvine 16.2 +1.03 15 25
297 Seattle U 16.2 +1.03 15 19
298 Drake 16.2 +1.03 14 29
299 Bucknell 16.3 +1.04 14 12
300 South Carolina 16.3 +1.05 14 21
301 Texas Tech 16.3 +1.06 14 29
302 Cleveland State 16.3 +1.06 13 27
303 UT Rio Grande Valley 16.4 +1.10 13 15
304 LSU 16.5 +1.13 13 29
305 Illinois State 16.5 +1.15 12 24
306 Colgate 16.5 +1.16 12 16
307 La Salle 16.6 +1.16 12 24
308 Rice 16.6 +1.16 12 25
309 Oakland 16.6 +1.16 11 30
310 Boise State 16.6 +1.17 11 27
311 NC State 16.6 +1.17 11 25
312 Mississippi State 16.6 +1.18 10 33
313 Colorado State 16.7 +1.21 10 27
314 Minnesota 16.7 +1.22 10 29
315 Kansas 16.8 +1.25 10 30
316 Florida International 16.8 +1.27 9 22
317 Ball State 16.8 +1.27 9 23
318 North Texas 16.9 +1.30 9 27
319 Wyoming 17.0 +1.33 8 25
320 Furman 17.2 +1.41 8 22
321 Miami (OH) 17.2 +1.42 8 22
322 George Mason 17.2 +1.43 7 22
323 Prairie View A&M 17.3 +1.44 7 21
324 Utah State 17.3 +1.45 7 28
325 UTSA 17.3 +1.46 7 22
326 Nebraska 17.4 +1.49 6 26
327 Illinois 17.5 +1.55 6 31
328 Ohio 17.5 +1.56 6 24
329 Eastern Michigan 17.6 +1.57 5 15
330 South Carolina State 17.7 +1.60 5 18
331 Northwestern 17.7 +1.61 5 23
332 Iowa 17.8 +1.64 5 31
333 Tennessee 18.0 +1.72 4 27
334 San Francisco 18.1 +1.78 4 25
335 Saint Louis 18.2 +1.81 4 21
336 San José State 18.4 +1.88 3 19
337 Sam Houston 18.6 +1.98 3 24
338 SIU Edwardsville 18.6 +1.99 3 25
339 Pacific 18.9 +2.10 3 17
340 Mississippi Valley State 19.0 +2.11 2 24
341 Louisville 19.0 +2.15 2 20
342 Wake Forest 19.1 +2.19 2 21
343 Arkansas 19.4 +2.31 1 32
344 Southern 20.8 +2.84 1 19
345 North Carolina A&T 20.8 +2.84 1 20
346 Jackson State 20.9 +2.90 1 18
347 Alcorn State 21.5 +3.11 0 19
348 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 22.4 +3.48 0 25