Style of play is everything in college basketball, and one of the elements that makes the sport great is the different styles of play that can develop in individual leagues. Now that the SEC has established itself as the strongest conference in the nation, understanding the style of play and what it takes to win are pivotal in both roster construction as well as developing an offensive and defensive scheme.
One way to take a deeper look into the style of play in the SEC is to see where the league ranked nationally in different statistical categories and investigate what that could mean when it comes to rosters and strategy.
Every ranking will be out of 31, as there are currently 31 leagues in college basketball (RIP to the Pac-12).
Pace: 4th
The SEC has always had a reputation as being a league full of athletes and one of the ways this is supported is with the pace numbers that show just how frantic the tempo was. Another thing to note–while the SEC was extremely fast last year, it might even be faster this season. Texas A&M, who was middle of the pack when it came to pace, could now see their tempo increase greatly with the hiring of Bucky McMillan whose Samford team was 18th in offensive pace last year.
Offensive Efficiency: 5th
When looking at a league’s offensive efficiency numbers there is always a bit of a chicken or the egg element as it could be related to either poor defense, or strong offense. You can interpret this however you like or land anywhere on the spectrum that you see fit, but whatever the case may be it was clear that teams in the SEC were scoring efficiently. Generally speaking, offensive efficiency was a better indicator of finishing at the top of the league than defensive efficiency, so I’m going to point to the ability to score still being paramount in the SEC.
Offensive Rebounding: 6th
Let’s take another look at some of the statistical categories that point to the incredible level of athleticism in the league. Many of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country reside in the SEC, and while the league ultimately ranked 6th–the fact that it wasn’t higher probably speaks to how good of defensive rebounding teams there are in the league as well.
Block Percentage: 1st
Here we have another number that speaks to the athletes in the SEC, as I don’t think it’s possible to rank highly in this category if not for length and explosiveness. If you’re looking for any more reason to declare the SEC the most athletic league in the country, here is another data point.
Three-Point Rate: 7th
Three-Point Percentage: 23rd
Another historical SEC stereotype does hold here, as the high three-point rate speaks a bit to the run-and-gun nature of the league, and the low three-point percentage speaks to the fact that this is still a league based largely on athleticism and toughness and sometimes skill and shooting does take a bit of a backseat. It is interesting to note that a few teams in the SEC went aggressively after shooting in the transfer portal, and in order to do so took some players that can stroke it from deep but don’t have prototypical SEC athleticism. Look for the shooting percentage in the league to be a bit higher this year, and if so it will be interesting to see how it affects defensive strategy. In recent years a lot of SEC teams, including Florida, really prioritized protecting the paint while being willing to give up more perimeter looks, and in a league without a lot of great shooters that strategy really worked. If the league suddenly starts shooting the ball a lot better, some strategies may need to change.
Assist Percentage: 20th
Could this be related to the shooting struggles? Perhaps, but whatever the case may be, the SEC doesn’t have as many assisted baskets as a lot of other leagues which speaks to how much individual scoring talent there is, as well as how many points come off offensive rebounds. The prevalence of isolation scorers is another reason why so many SEC teams have been willing to leave shooters and protect the paint, and you can see how these numbers all start making sense when connected to each other.
Home Winning Percentage: 15th
While there are still some scary home environments in the SEC, you don’t see as much home dominance as you do in other leagues like the Big 12 (that ranks 6th, for example). This number also speaks to just how competitive the league is top to bottom, where you can no longer pencil in a win at home against a team in the bottom third tier of the league like you once could.