New 3-Pt. Line Affects Offense, Defense

The NCAA decided a while back that the official distance of the men’s 3-point line should be increased by about a foot. Reactions to this change from players, coaches and fans have been mixed. By and large there is support for the moved line. As Andy Glockner of ESPN.com points out, the increased distance will probably not affect a team’s offense as much as its defense.

The main disadvantages contended by opponents of the rule change were based on the assumption that teams that otherwise could rely on good three point shooting to beat higher caliber teams would not be able to do so with such regularity. That is, when Small Enrollment University takes on the University of Bigathleticbudget, SEU couldn’t hope to beat the big boys by getting hot from behind the arc in the second half.

Apparently the difference in three point percentage is not big enough to make a difference either way. The big change will be with zone defenses. Teams will now have more square footage to cover. So if you are interested in seeing a bit more man-to-man D’s out there, try getting dome NCAA Basketball tickets at StubHub.com for games next season.

Posted in General on May 25, 2007

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