During the 2023-24 season, Florida’s offense wasn’t an issue. The Gators were 12th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric, and they semi-regularly put up triple digit score numbers that had opponent’s on their heels whenever they brought the ball up the court. Unfortunately, things weren’t so good on the defensive end which ultimately led to Florida’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament.
Going into the 2024-25 season Todd Golden and his staff were determined to improve the defense from the 94th KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency mark they finished with the year prior. That meant bringing in Alijah Martin, Rueben Chinyelu, and Sam Alexis–three players known more for their ability to guard than their ability to put the ball in the hoop. It also meant some changes in defensive philosophy, such as helping more in the gaps on drives and stacking the strong side of the floor as opposed to staying glued to possible spot up shooters.
The results have been positive. Florida has improved their 94th ranked defense in 2023-24 to 10th this season, and while their ability to put points on the board is still often the first thing that is mentioned when discussing the Gators it’s the defensive mindset that is talked about much more in the locker room and around the practice facility. While the changes in personnel have had a big impact on the defense, as well as the schematic changes, there is one element that has really helped the defense that you might not have thought of.
Offensive rebounding.
Yup, you heard me correctly–offensive rebounding. If that surprises you, or you think you misread the first three paragraphs suggesting that this would be a defensive article–just stay with me.
Let’s first talk about some generalities about college basketball, namely the difference in value between a half court position and a transition possession. To gauge the value, we will as always use “points per possession” as the metric to compare the play styles. This is the average points per possession for each play in college basketball this season:
Half court: 0.91 PPP
Transition: 1.07 PPP
As you can see, there is a considerable difference in value between the average half court possession and the average transition possession. To add further context, the difference between 0.91 PPP and 1.07 is the equivalent of a player taking a 45% shot from two-point range and a player taking a 53% shot from two-point range.
There are multiple reasons why transition possessions are more valuable. Defenses are backpedaling which doesn’t put them in good position to defend the ball, and often the transition plays put the defense in a compromising position from a floor balance standpoint. Compare that to a half court possession where the defense has a chance to get dug in and is in their preferred position ready to respond to what the offense is doing.
As a defense, knowing the difference in value between a transition and a half court possession, anytime you can take a team out of transition and make them execute in the halfcourt you have already gained 0.18 PPP of value–a number that can quickly add up over the course of a game’s worth of possessions.
Now, let’s bring it back to Florida’s offensive rebounding. As you know, Florida has been pounding the offensive glass this season. Currently the Gators are 8th in the country in offensive rebounding and oftentimes their missed shots on the perimeter turn into easy putbacks on the rim. Here is where Florida’s offensive rebounding has helped their defense–as Florida continues to assault the offensive glass, their opponents need to be more concerned with boxing out and securing the rebound, and therefore are no longer in a good position to head out on the fast break.
Some of this is anecdotal–something that comes out in the film. It’s only something that can be supported with some play type data. This year the average team in college basketball takes 16.3% of their shots in transition. The SEC is a league loaded with teams that want to play fast (the SEC is 4th nationally in tempo), and a number of teams in the league are much closer to 20% of their shots coming in the fast break. For that reason, you might even expect the Gators to defend more than 16.3% of total shots in transition.
However, that’s not the case.
Right now just 13.7% of opponent shots are coming in transition, well below the national average and well below what most teams in the SEC are facing. What this number tells you is that the Gators are effectively keeping their opponents out of transition, and much of it is due to the pressure that the offensive rebounding puts on the defense to send extra bodies to the paint. When that happens, even if they get the ball they can’t run–and that means the Gators get to defend in the half court instead of in transition.
Not only is Florida taking away transition attempts entirely, but they are effectively defending them if teams still do try to attack. Florida’s forwards attacking the glass and tipping balls around means the guards are able to retreat and protect the rim, meaning that even if opponents are determined to run they are going to meet multiple bodies. In terms of defensive points per possession in transition the Gators 4th in the country–by far and away the best at the high-major level. For them to do this in a league like the SEC is remarkable–and it has been arguably the biggest reason for their defensive success this season.
Florida is still 33rd in the country in defensive points per possession in the half court which is a tremendous mark in its own right–but the real success of Florida’s defense is how much they force their opponent to play in the half court and how they take away the transition shots so many teams crave.
Once you’ve noticed how Florida’s offensive rebounding takes their opponent out of transition you won’t be able to unsee it–and it helps paint the picture of a team that is having an excellent defensive season.
Sometimes, the best defense is good offense (err…offensive rebounding).