Why the fast break may set this Rutgers team apart
Taking a closer look how the Scarlet Knights’ speed is manifesting itself on the court in my first analytical dive of the season.
PISCATAWAY – You heard it from me, and you heard it from any other outlet covering Rutgers basketball this preseason: The Scarlet Knights’ 2023-24 roster had a few new positives going for it. It was deeper than years past, and it was faster and more athletic than years past.
Coaches almost always talk up their groups during the preseason, and it is reporters’ jobs to separate the reality from the bluster. But these descriptors passed the eye test at that October practice and media day. The more important outcome was how those attributes would come into play when games began. Would they be used effectively?
Through five games, Rutgers is 4-1, having rebounded from a seven-point opening loss to Princeton to win four straight. Before the Scarlet Knights start facing a tougher schedule next month, with games against Illinois, Wake Forest, Seton Hall and Mississippi State, it’s a good time to inspect one way this year’s group is shaping up to be radically different than Steve Pikiell’s recent teams.
On the whole, Rutgers is not suddenly an up-tempo team. College basketball analytics guru Ken Pomeroy (if that name is new to you, get used to hearing it) measures teams’ adjusted tempo as possessions per 40 minutes, adjusted for quality of opponent. As of Tuesday morning, Rutgers ranks 258th of 362 Division I teams. It is not a “fast” team in this regard and never will be, but there is a deeper reason why.
Beyond the bottom-line tempo number, we can measure average possession length – how long your team has the ball on offense, and how long your team is spending on defense.
Having a long or a short APL on defense does not paint a full picture. A hypothetical Team A that steals the ball seven seconds into all its opponent’s possessions would average a 7.0 defensive possession length and not yield any points; if Team B gives up a 3-pointer seven seconds into every defensive stand, it would still have a 7.0 defensive APL but with far worse outcomes.
Under Pikiell, Rutgers wants to play defense constantly. In their best form, the Scarlet Knights are grinding opponents to a halt, forcing 10-second violations or bad-pass turnovers or shot-clock violations. The shot clock in college basketball is 30 seconds, so what is a shot-clock violation if not a successful, 30-second defensive stand?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Guarden State to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.