When you’re diving into team matchups and trying to predict outcomes, two stats that often come up are Strength of Schedule (SOS) and Strength of Victory (SOV). While they sound similar, they measure very different things—and understanding them can give you a sharper edge when analyzing bets.
🏋️ What is Strength of Schedule (SOS)?
Strength of Schedule measures how tough a team's opponents were over the course of the season.
It’s calculated using the combined record of all opponents a team has faced.
Higher SOS means a team played a harder schedule.
Example: In the screenshot above, Kansas State (KSU) has a .560 SOS—meaning their opponents had a roughly 56% win rate.
✅ Use SOS to understand how “battle-tested” a team is.
🎯 What is Strength of Victory (SOV)?
Strength of Victory measures how strong the teams were that a team defeated.
It looks at the combined win-loss record of the teams a team has defeated.
A higher SOV means a team has wins over opponents with better records.
A lower SOV means they’ve mostly beaten weaker teams.
🤔 Why it matters:
Not all wins are equal. Beating a 10-2 team is more impressive than beating a 3-9 team. SOV shows you how impressive a team’s wins really are.
Example:
Iowa State (ISU) has a .522 SOV, meaning the teams they beat had a 72–66 combined record.
Kansas State (KSU) has a .496 SOV, meaning the teams they beat had a 57–58 record.
SOS vs. SOV: Why They Both Matter
Here’s how to use both together:
A team with high SOS but low SOV? They played tough competition but didn’t beat many good teams.
A team with high SOV and moderate SOS? They may not have faced a gauntlet, but they showed up against strong teams.
Combining these insights with spread, moneyline, and prop data can give you a serious edge.