Soft Pretzel Logic

ABOARD AMTRAK TRAIN 2154, BEGINNING TO WRITE AT HAMILTON, N.J., AND ENDING AT OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. -- Two years ago, I flew to Boston for the Penn-Harvard game and got stuck in a snowstorm very much like the one hitting us today.

The flight up was just fine, but the snow started falling the night I arrived and pretty much every flight in the Northeast was canceled the day I was supposed to leave.

I ended up taking the train back to Philadelphia, and distinctly remember rolling right through the storm. The snow was flying around all over the place, but aside from a few delays nothing really major happened. When I got to 30th Street seven hours later, the skies were clear.

When I went online to book travel to Boston for this year's game between the Quakers and Crimson, I found that roundtrip flights were more expensive than even the Acela train, much less the regular Regional service.

It's AirTran's fault, frankly. They used to fly between Philadelphia and Boston for under $100 each way, and usually a lot less than that. But they discontinued the route back in November, and US Airways immediately did what any good monopoly would do -- jack its fares way up.

So the train it was -- and perhaps will be for a while, US Airways being what it is. Figuring that saving two hours was worth spending a few extra dollars, I stumped for the sleek, quasi-European modernity (and more comfortable seats) of the Acela.

As a result, I sit here en route to Boston surrounded by expensive suits, dossiers full of small-print investment banking data and enough BlackBerries to fill a supermarket produce section. But we're moving and the planes aren't, and this ride is definitely a lot smoother than the Regional service.

Having said that, the ride north is still five hours long. So there's plenty of time to deliver this week's Crunchy Numbers. Pay particular attention to the moves La Salle has made over the last seven days:

Drexel

-- Offensive efficiency: 89.8 (324)
-- Defensive efficiency: 97.6 (82)
-- Tempo: 65.8 poss / 40 mins (221)

Offense

-- Effective FG %: 45.8 (305)
-- Offensive rebounding %: 28.1 (305)
-- 3-point FG %: 31.3 (301)
-- Free throw %: 64.0 (304)
-- Steal %: 12.9 (329)
-- Ratio of assists to field goals made: 60.1% (73)

Defense

-- Effective FG %: 47.3 (59)
-- 3-point FG%: 32.9 (63)
-- 2-point FG%: 46.3 (98)

Frank Elegar

-- Defensive rebounding %: 51st (23.6)
-- Free throw rate: 22nd (82.3%)
-- Block %: 96th (7.0)

La Salle

-- Offensive efficiency: 103.5 (140)
-- Defensive efficiency: 102.4 (191)
-- Tempo: 70.5 poss / 40 mins (65)

Offense

-- Offensive rebounding %: 36.6 (55)
-- 3-point FG %: 40.2 (12)
-- Block %: 13.2 (333)

Defense

-- Offensive rebounding %: 30.3 (65)
-- 3-point FG %: 33.2 (77)
-- Ratio of three-point attempts to all FGA: 29.4% (32)

Darnell Harris

-- Offensive rating: 17th (127.1)
-- Effective FG %: 62nd (61.1)
-- Turnover rate: 28th (10.8%)

NOTE: Harris is shooting 49.4% from three-point range, which is certainly one of the top performances in the country. Problem is, the stats sites I've seen don't have minimum minutes requirements. The NCAA's report for games played through Feb. 17, at which time Harris was also shooting 49.4%, had him ranked fourth.

Jerrell Williams

-- Offensive rebounding %: 38th (14.1)

Penn

-- Offensive efficiency: 93.8 (287)
-- Defensive efficiency: 106.0 (270)
-- Tempo: 70.8 poss / 40 mins (55)

Offense

-- Free throw rate: 28.4% (66)
-- 3-point FG %: 29.4 (330)
-- Ratio of assists to FGM: 60.7% (62)

Defense

-- 3-point FG%: 40.1 (330)
-- Block %: 10.7 (80)
-- Ratio of three-point attempts to all FGA: 31.5% (77)

NOTE: Harrison Gaines has an assist rate of 42.1%, but is short of the Pomeroy minutes requirement needed to be ranked (40% of possible minutes played). As a result, some weeks he makes it into the ranking and some weeks he doesn't.

St. Joseph's

-- Offensive efficiency: 113.9 (9)
-- Defensive efficiency: 102.0 (178)
-- Tempo: 66.2 poss / 40 mins (205)

Offense

-- Effective FG %: 55.4 (10)
-- Turnover %: 19.5 (69)
-- Free throw rate: 28.9% (50)
-- 3-point FG %: 40.4 (6)
-- 2-point FG %: 52.4 (44)
-- Ratio of assists to FGM: 59.5% ( 83)

Defense

-- Free throw rate: 31.7% (75)
-- Block %: 14.1 (18)
-- Steal %: 11.6 (62)
-- Ratio of assists to FGM: 61.3% (301)

Pat Calathes

-- Offensive rating: 80th (120.5)

Rob Ferguson

-- Effective FG %: 75th (60.6)

Ahmad Nivins

-- Effective FG %: 24th (63.8%)
-- 3-point FG %: 0-0 (0.0%)
-- Free throw rate: 18th (81.7%)

Tasheed Carr

-- Assist rate: 29th (35.1%)

Temple

-- Offensive efficiency: 108.0 (60)
-- Defensive efficiency: 103.6 (220)
-- Tempo: 65.4 poss / 40 mins (242)

Offense

-- Effective FG %: 54.1 (29)
-- Turnover %: 19.0 (47)
-- 3-point FG %: 36.9 (95)
-- 2-point FG %: 53.3 (26)
-- Free throw %: 74.6 (29)
-- Block %: 6.6 (25)
-- Steal %: 9.1 (96)
-- Ratio of three-point attempts to all FGA: 39.9% (53)
-- Ratio of assists to FGM: 58.9% (97)

NOTE: The Owls' offense is in the top 100 in nine of the 11 statistical categories Pomeroy tracks.

Defense

-- 2-point FG%: 45.3 (66)
-- Block %: 12.2 (45)

Dionte Christmas

-- Percent of possible minutes played: 15th (92.1)

Mark Tyndale

-- Percent of possible minutes played: 18th (91.8)

Ryan Brooks

-- Turnover rate: 54th (11.7%)

Sergio Olmos

-- Block %: 57th (8.3)

Villanova

-- Offensive efficiency: 106.7 (87)
-- Defensive efficiency: 100.2 (134)
-- Tempo: 69.2 poss / 40 mins (101)

Offense

-- Turnover %: 19.6 (78)
-- Offensive rebounding %: 36.9 (43)
-- Free throw %: 71.5 (93)
-- Block %: 12.4 (324)
-- Steal %: 8.6 (53)

Defense

-- Turnover %: 23.8 (49)
-- Free throw rate: 48.9 (329)
-- Steal %: 11.6 (64)
-- Ratio of three-point attempts to all FGA: 39.7% (311)

NOTE: Villanova's defense is giving up 37.4% three-point shooting, 284th in Division 1. A week ago, the Wildcats were giving up 39.6% from the perimeter, and were ranked 325th. This week's Crunchy Numbers marks the first report since Christmas Day in which the Wildcats are not ranked 300th or below.