In Tennessee’s 91-71 win over Alabama last Saturday inside the Food City Center, fifth-year senior guard Josiah-Jordan James missed all three of his attempts from the floor and was just 1-of-2 from the free-throw line during a one-point performance for the Volunteers.
Yet during the 20 minutes and 39 seconds that James was on the court, the Vols outscored the Crimson Tide by 20 points, and nobody on Tennessee’s team had a better plus/minus result.
The plus/minus category on a box score doesn’t get near the attention of points, rebounds, assists and turnovers, but it can sometimes be revealing and is almost always intriguing. Alabama senior guard Mark Sears led Alabama with 22 points and didn’t have another teammate reach double figures, but his plus/minus total of minus-18 during his 32 minutes and 43 seconds on the floor was the worst on his team.
“I think it’s something that’s important, but it’s something I don’t think should be overvalued at times,” Tennessee junior guard Jahmai Mashack said following Saturday’s victory. “There are times it should be valued just as it is. Jo did a lot of things in this game, and you can see that in his plus/minus, whereas you wouldn’t otherwise see that on the stat sheet.
“The way he talks and leads on the court, and the sets he leads on defense and the way he kind of cleans up stuff — I think plus/minus is an important stat.”