Undergraduate Thesis Presentation: NBA Semiparametric Modeling: Analyzing the Relationship Between Injuries and In-Game Statistics

Speaker: Sammi Matoush, Washington University in Saint Louis

Abstact: Basketball is an extremely physical sport with violent twisting and turning movements. Injuries in this sport are a common occurrence regardless of the level of competition. Thus, the level of physicality of the sport is directly correlated with the high number of injuries suffered while playing this sport. Documented studies show that model analysis has been mainly performed on the relationship between injuries in the NBA and factors outside of the game of basketball, for instance poor nutrition habits, influence of travel factors, sleep deprivation, etc. However, studies that have included in-game statistical factors such as rebounds per game, points per game, fouls per game, etc. are severely limited. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze various covariates and independent variables that can impact the outcome of a given statistical test to determine their influence on injuries while playing in the NBA. A final model will be constructed using these covariates that will be used to explain the influence of in-game statistics on injuries in the NBA.

 

Host: Nan Lin