Coaches don't like to admit that chance plays a role in basketball. Well, they're wrong. Chance is an important factor, and that's part of what makes the sport so exciting. In bowling and skeet shooting, perhaps, fans can expect perfect symmetry between merit and outcome, but in hoops the variables are a little more unruly.
Call those variables anything you wish, whether it's "luck," "error," "variance," "ball don't lie" or even "the hoops gods." The idea is the same any way you dress it up. Performance alone does not determine success.
That dynamic was felt once again last season, and below I've listed the 10 unluckiest major-conference teams from 2013-14. I've come up with this group by comparing teams' records in conference play to what their expected record would be based on their per-possession performance. (For instance if you score as many points as you allow over the course of a conference season, you would be expected to go 9-9 in an 18-game league. If you go 6-12 instead, I will officially label you as unlucky.)
So much for the procedures, here are the results. Presenting your top 10 teams due for better luck in 2014-15.