PROVO — An increasing number of college basketball teams are shifting to a half-court, grind-it-out style of play.
It’s not fun to watch, but there’s an upside to the slow-ball strategy: winning.
Take note, BYU.
While the uptempo Cougars score 86 points per game — more than any school in the country — they haven’t been able to net big wins.
Against ranked opponents, BYU is 0-3, losing 92-87 in double overtime against No. 15 San Diego State; 65-61 to No. 13 Utah; and 87-80 versus No. 8 Gonzaga.
The Cougars have even struggled with mediocre clubs, losing to sub-.500 San Diego and Pepperdine (12-8).
BYU kept all of those games close, but with too much offensive freedom and not enough defensive poise, the Cougars came up short.
The trend nationally is to slow down, and it’s working. In fact, only one top-10 team ranks among the top 50 in possessions per 40 minutes, according to KenPom.com.
Check it out:
1. Kentucky: 63.3 possessions per 40 minutes (281st out of 351 teams)
2. Virginia: 58.4 (350th)
3. Gonzaga: 65.4 (166th)
4. Villanova 65.9 (137th)
5. Duke: 68.1 (53rd)
6. Wisconsin: 60.8 (336th)
7. Arizona 67.5 (67th)
8. Notre Dame: 64.0 (247th)
9. Iowa State: 70.7 (14th)
10. Louisville: 66.8 (101st)
NR. BYU: 71.6 (9th)
For most of those teams, taking it slow has meant being efficient on offense and patient on defense.
Take, for instance, No. 2 Virginia (18-0, 6-0 ACC). The Cavaliers shoot 48 percent from the floor — 40 from behind the arc — while committing just 8.8 turnovers per game, the third-lowest total in the nation.
Though BYU has similar shooting numbers (47 percent from the field, 39 from deep), the Cougars give up the ball 12.5 times per contest (141st).
Plus, because BYU takes a lot of long 2's and 3's, its shooting percentages aren’t consistent from game to game. Rather, they rise and fall like the ridges of Mount Timpanogos.
For example, against San Francisco, Tyler Haws & Co. shot a sizzling 33 of 55 from the floor, including 15-for-28 from 3-point range, for 99 points. But when they played Utah, the Cougars were ice-cold, knocking down just 24 of 65 attempts for 61 points.
In addition to being efficient on offense, Virginia is also patient on defense.
Thanks to a pack-line defense, which stresses containment and boxing out, Virginia gives up just 8.7 offensive rebounds per game.
The Cougars, who like to get out on transition, allow opponents to grab 10.8.
Ultimately, the Cavaliers' strategy has helped them to hold opposing teams to 49.3 points per outing — 24.8 less than the Cougars.
Does that mean BYU should go from one extreme to the other? Not necessarily.
The Cougars, whose starting front court features an average height and weight of just 6-foot-5, 213 pounds, don't exactly have the size to outscore and defend opponents in the half court.
However, considering the way this season is playing out, it may be time to make adjustments (take less 25-foot 3-pointers within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock and play defense with greater effort and focus).
BYU doesn't have to be as sluggish as Virginia, but if the Cougars want to dance in the NCAA tournament, they might want to consider moving to a slower tune.
Jared Bray is a contributing writer for the Deseret News. He also reports in English and Tagalog (a language he learned while serving a two-year church mission in the Philippines) for Balitang America, a nightly news program of The Filipino Channel.