Is college basketball changing?

[skianth16]

The more college basketball I watch this year, the more it seems like teams are playing a slower, more deliberate (read: boring) style. Teams like Virginia, Michigan, Va Tech, and Mississippi State are having success with longer possessions and slower pace. I've seen a bunch of games with over/unders set in the low to mid 120s, and many games ending with totals around 110-120.

Is this just a fluke that some of the better teams this year happen to play a slower, Bucky-esque brand of basketball, or is this part of a larger trend?

[JakeBarnes]

ND still sucks

[NorthernDancerColt]

The more college basketball I watch this year, the more it seems like teams are playing a slower, more deliberate (read: boring) style. Teams like Virginia, Michigan, Va Tech, and Mississippi State are having success with longer possessions and slower pace. I've seen a bunch of games with over/unders set in the low to mid 120s, and many games ending with totals around 110-120.

Is this just a fluke that some of the better teams this year happen to play a slower, Bucky-esque brand of basketball, or is this part of a larger trend?

There was an article in The Athletic on Ben Howland's resurgence and how his slow it down style is an anomaly in today's game. I think it's a combination function of coaching personalities and what their recruiting ceiling is at their respective schools. Tony Bennett would probably coach this way at Duke, though.

On the Symir Torrence thread's link to the 'Cuse website, their fans were lamenting how nobody wants to play in the the Orange's slow offense and zone D anymore.

How many times do we hear "he's still andjusting to the pace and speed" of the college game in relation to struggling Freshman talent? Given a choice, most recruits, fans, and coaches ideally would like to play at high octane pace.

[muwarrior69]

24 second clock?

[Charlotte Warrior]

The more college basketball I watch this year, the more it seems like teams are playing a slower, more deliberate (read: boring) style. Teams like Virginia, Michigan, Va Tech, and Mississippi State are having success with longer possessions and slower pace. I've seen a bunch of games with over/unders set in the low to mid 120s, and many games ending with totals around 110-120.

Is this just a fluke that some of the better teams this year happen to play a slower, Bucky-esque brand of basketball, or is this part of a larger trend?

Va Tech plays at a slower pace???   Is this Buzz hate or laziness???   They average 81 pts a game.   

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Va Tech plays at a slower pace???   Is this Buzz hate or laziness???   They average 81 pts a game.

And are ranked 311/353 in terms of tempo....

Scoring lots of points doesn't mean that you play at a high pace. In VT's case,  they are very efficient on offense and shoot (and make)  a lot of threes. But they work every possession to near the end of the shot clock before hitting an open three.

[Jay Bee]

Tempo is up this year

[skianth16]

Tempo is up this year

What has the pace/tempo been in recent years? I was just scanning through some of the top teams last night and saw a decent amount of teams with a pace under 70. Marquette's pace of 72.2 is ranked 102 out of 353, putting us close to being in the top quartile in terms of fastest pace of play.

This isn't a stat I've looked at much, but I thought I had heard announcers say that 70-75 possessions per game was pretty standard. If we're right in that range but in the 70th percentile for pace, it seems like pace is either slow this year or has been trending down lately.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Pace can be a deceptive stat.  Buzz's 2nd MU team played at a slow pace based on stats.  But the ball was constantly moving, so it didn't look like the stereotypical slow tempo team.

Contrast that with a team that dribbles for 25 seconds and chucks a desperation 3.  Both teams might shoot at the same time but the styles look completely different.

[4everwarriors]

Tempo is up this year

Dey still coached bye John Chaney, hey?

[Jay Bee]

What has the pace/tempo been in recent years? I was just scanning through some of the top teams last night and saw a decent amount of teams with a pace under 70. Marquette's pace of 72.2 is ranked 102 out of 353, putting us close to being in the top quartile in terms of fastest pace of play.

This isn't a stat I've looked at much, but I thought I had heard announcers say that 70-75 possessions per game was pretty standard. If we're right in that range but in the 70th percentile for pace, it seems like pace is either slow this year or has been trending down lately.

Been 68.1 to 68.3 the last 3 years. We're at 69.6 this year - May drop a bit as the year goes on

[NorthernDancerColt]

Dey still coached bye John Chaney, hey?

De udder Cheney huntid in Wyoming, where Fennis DEMBO hooped in kollidge


[Fennis and his twin sister Fenise were the 11th and 12th kids in the DEMBO family....they were named by their older sister Zona, who wanted her Mom and Dad to stop having kids, so she recommended a play on the French word "finis" or done. (Wikipedia is a wonderful thing!)]

[tower912]

College basketball is always changing.     3 pt line.  4 corners.   Shot clocks.    Emphasis on calling hand checking or fouls on hand offs.  Going back in time, banning the dunk because of Alcindor.     The fab 5 changed college basketball.    Recruiting one and dones has changed college basketball.     Kids want to play fast.    Coaches want to limit turnovers.    It has been a source of tension forever.      So, tempo may make minor adjustments.    But with a 30 second clock, it will never get as slow as Bo would have liked. 

[skianth16]

Been 68.1 to 68.3 the last 3 years. We're at 69.6 this year - May drop a bit as the year goes on

Is that a pace figure you're talking about, or is it something else? I was looking at sports-reference.com and saw us at 72.2 for pace, and kenpom has us at 71.6 for adjusted tempo. Both stats seem to be roughly the same thing.

[GrimmReaper33]

As has been mentioned, overall pace is up. 

Some team's slower pace is a product of playing really good defense- they make their opponents really work for a shot and thus there are less possessions in a game.  If you look at the top 20-25 defenses in the country (per KenPom), there are a lot of teams that would be consider "slow" in terms of pace.  Teams like: Texas Tech, Virginia, Michigan, Kansas St, Florida, Texas, Houston, UW, Syracuse, OSU, Cincinnati.

There are also some teams that play fast from a pace standpoint, but are still efficient both offensively & defensively- Duke, UNC, Gonzaga, Mich St, etc.

It's not for everyone, but all the different styles of play is one of the things I enjoy most about college basketball.  One thing I found interesting while looking at some numbers was that Nova has played at a slower pace than Bucky so far this year.  Last year they were in the top half of all college bball when it comes to pace.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

24 second clock?

For the love of all things holy, absolutely not.

[skianth16]

It's not for everyone, but all the different styles of play is one of the things I enjoy most about college basketball.  One thing I found interesting while looking at some numbers was that Nova has played at a slower pace than Bucky so far this year.  Last year they were in the top half of all college bball when it comes to pace.

I generally agree. Maybe I'm just skewed by some recency bias here, but I've seen some games this year that should have been good, competitive matchups that were just so slow I could barely stand to watch. Lots of 25 second sets, teams taking 9 seconds to walk the ball up past half court, very limited fast break/transition offense - that kind of stuff can make the game a little dry, IMO.

I don't mind watching a good defensive team that forces opponents to work the ball around to get a good shot. In fact, I think that's a big pro for college hoops compared to the NBA. But when offenses intentionally play slowly without being forced into it, I find it hard to watch.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I think the teams in the Big East just generally play a more entertaining brand of basketball.  The B12 and B10 are both very good this year, but they play alot of low scoring games, even from the top teams.  Much slower pace, and more grind it out. 

[BrewCity83]

In fact, I think that's a big pro for college hoops compared to the NBA.

So, it's a pro for college and a con for pro.

[skianth16]

So, it's a pro for college and a con for pro.

Yeah, something like that.

Defensive-minded teams in college can be fun to watch. That's one of the reasons I like watching college basketball more than the NBA.

[BrewCity83]

I totally agree.  And I like the full-time effort the college players give as opposed to the NBA turn-it-on-when-we-need-to effort levels.

[Charlotte Warrior]

tempo is a stat that lies.   14 games - seven total blow outs  - that stat will be significantly impacted when your holding the ball at the end.   Vtech doesn't play slow. 

[skianth16]

tempo is a stat that lies.   14 games - seven total blow outs  - that stat will be significantly impacted when your holding the ball at the end.   Vtech doesn't play slow.

That could influence it, but they've had some pretty low tempos in some of their closest games too. They lost by 1 in their closest game of the year, to Penn State, with a pace of 62.8, then they only beat Ball St by 9 with a pace of 64. The obscenely low pace of 57.1 against MD Eastern Shore could have been due to the 45 point margin of victory, but that doesn't fit with their pace of 69 against Central Connecticut who they beat by 54. All in all, I don't think blowouts really change the tempo too much.

[Jay Bee]

Is that a pace figure you're talking about, or is it something else? I was looking at sports-reference.com and saw us at 72.2 for pace, and kenpom has us at 71.6 for adjusted tempo. Both stats seem to be roughly the same thing.

Pace. Kenpom has MU at 72.4 (vs your 72.2 at sports ref). Looks reasonable.

Adj tempo isn't reality

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

tempo is a stat that lies.   14 games - seven total blow outs  - that stat will be significantly impacted when your holding the ball at the end.   Vtech doesn't play slow.

It can be a deceptive stat. Not so deceptive that it would turn a fast paced team into one ranked in the 12th percentile for tempo.

They are a slow paced team. That doesn't mean they are unathletic, or boring, or don't move the ball a lot. They are a smart team that works the ball around until they get an efficient shot.