The ACC - Where A 30 Second Shot Clock Can't Come Soon Enough

Atlantic Coast Conference basketball used to be synonymous with words such as “exciting”, “fast-paced”, and “must-see TV”. Not so much anymore. On May 15, the ACC announced that the conference will be the first to experiment with a 30 second shot clock during exhibition games. Commissioner John Swofford said, “Our coaches and ADs both felt it would be an enhancement to the game in today's world. It adds more possessions and potentially would speed up the game.” 

While one can applaud the forward thinking used in this situation it is also necessary to understand why people associated with the ACC would like to “speed up the game.” This past season, the Atlantic Coast Conference was THE slowest paced conference in Division One. Not just the slowest out of the BCS conferences, but out of all 32 D-1 conferences. How could a storied conference once known for its open style of play only average 64.5 possessions per game? Two reasons: Expansion and coaching hires. 

Year	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
AdjT	69.9	69.4	69.2	68.0	67.9	69.1	68.3	67.7	67.4	65.8	66.0	64.5

Pre Expansion:

In 2003, the ACC consisted of just nine teams: Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, and Wake Forest. Duke and Maryland were fresh off championship winning runs in 2001 and 2002 and North Carolina was looking to re-establish its powerhouse presence with a top ranked recruiting class of Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, and Sean May. During 2003 the conference averaged 69.9 possessions per game with seven of the nine teams averaging over 68. Duke led the way with 72.6 possessions per game while Clemson brought up the rear at 65.6.

2004 marked the last year of ACC play before expansion hit and it also marked UNC’s first season with Roy Williams at the helm. Six out of the nine conference schools (70%) made the NCAA tournament and the talented Yellow Jackets made a surprise run to the championship game before losing to the UConn Huskies. The average tempo slightly decreased to 69.4 possessions per game, primarily due to Herb Sendek’s Princeton offense and the Wolfpack’s 63.9 possessions per game. Six out of the nine schools still averaged over 68 possessions with Maryland, UNC, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Georgia Tech all averaging over 70 per game. Conference play was booming with more than 50% of the teams averaging over 75 points per game; however expansion was on the horizon.

Expansion: The Early Years:

Known as a basketball conference, the ACC wanted to increase its presence on the football field. Florida State was the dominant program, but the conference wanted more. Enter Big East football powers Miami and Virginia Tech in 2005 and then Boston College in 2006. The number of schools averaging over 68 possessions per game quickly dropped from 67% to 55% with the new additions. Miami came in at an adjusted tempo of 65.8 and Virginia Tech at 67.2 in 2005. Despite the additions, both Maryland and UNC continued to push the pace with talented rosters. Maryland averaged a league leading 75.5 possessions per game while the national champion Tar Heels averaged 73.9 behind Raymond Felton. As a whole, the ACC still averaged over 69 possessions per game with the conference average coming in at 69.2 for the year.

Boston College entered the fray the following year at a lowly 62.9 possessions per game; however the slow paced Eagles were not even the slowest team in the ACC that year. That honor belonged to Miami who came in at 62.4. The three former Big East schools played at an average pace of 63.3 while the core ACC members played at a pace of 69.6. Quite the difference. This contrast stayed relatively consistent for the next three years as the former Big East schools learned how to slightly pick up the pace. In 2009 the ACC averaged 68.3 possessions per game with North Carolina leading the way at 73.9. At this point in time, the ACC average was second in Division One and just a hair behind the SEC who averaged 68.5 possessions per game. 

Coaching Changes:

2010:

In the new decade, the ACC started to take a turn for the worst when it came to tempo. The three Big East schools actually increased their pace to 67.1 possessions per game in 2010 while the core ACC members saw their tempo decrease to just 67.9 possessions per game. While most schools saw a slight dip due to roster turnover (i.e. UNC and Wake), six out of 12 schools still averaged over 68 possessions per game. What changed? After firing Dave Leitao, the University of Virginia made a surprise hire in Tony Bennett. Known for his Pac-Line D and slow style of play, Virginia’s tempo decreased almost 8% to 63 possessions per game (which also happened to be the highest tempo played in Bennett’s eight year coaching tenure). The ACC finished the year with another championship courtesy of Duke but saw their tempo slip to 67.7 possessions per game.

2011:

In 2011, Oliver Purnell left Clemson for DePaul and Brad Brownell was hired from Wright State. In four years at the Horizon League school, Bronwell’s teams averaged 62.7 possessions per game. Needless to say that Clemson’s tempo dropped sharply with the coaching switch. A 5% decrease led to just 65.3 possessions per game after 69.1 in Purnell’s last year in Death Valley. Similar to Bennett, Brownell’s first year at Clemson also happened to be his fastest paced team in ACC play as the Tiger’s pace declined year over year.  

Boston College hired Steve Donahue from Cornell after letting Al Skinner go and while B.C. was not exactly an up-tempo team, their pace was slowly increasing in the ACC. When the Donahue change occurred, BC’s tempo decreased 3%, hovering at just 64 possessions per game. 

2012:

Further coaching upheaval occurred in 2012 with four schools changing coaches. N.C. State hired Mark Gottfried, Georgia Tech hired Brian Gregory, Maryland hired Mark Turgeon, and Miami hired Jim Larranaga. Only Gottfried’s Wolfpack didn’t see a tempo decrease. Georgia Tech averaged 63.9 possessions per game, a 9% decrease, Maryland averaged 67.5 possessions per game, a 6% decrease, and Miami averaged 64.5 possessions per game, a 2% decrease. In 2012 just two out of 12 teams averaged over 68 possessions per game and the overall ACC tempo was at just 65.8 possessions per game.

The Combination:

This past season marked a new low for the ACC play when it came to tempo. Between the recent coaching hires getting comfortable with their slow down style of play and the addition of three Big East teams known for their bump and grind style the ACC became the slowest conference in America. Overall, the league averaged 64.5 possessions per game (last in the country) and just 61.8 possessions per game in conference play.  

Out of the three schools that began ACC play this year, Notre Dame led the way with 64.1 possessions per game. Pittsburgh averaged 63.5 and Syracuse averaged 61.3 possessions per game.  Also, Virginia, Clemson, and Miami all averaged under 61 possessions per game with Miami coming in at a paltry 58.5 possessions. In 2003 Clemson was the slowest paced team at 65.6, but in 2014 that would have been good enough for seventh in a 15 team league. 

Team	AdjT
North Carolina	70.8
Maryland	69.2
Wake Forest	68.1
Florida St.	66.7
North Carolina St.	66.2
Duke	66.0
Georgia Tech	65.7
Notre Dame	64.1
Virginia Tech	63.6
Pittsburgh	63.5
Boston College	63.0
Syracuse	61.3
Virginia	60.9
Clemson	60.2
Miami FL	58.5

Along with the slow play, it was not exactly a memorable season for the ACC. After much early talk about being the best conference in college basketball only six teams made it into the tournament with none making it past the Sweet 16. How will things look in the future?

Going Forward:

Last season Clemson and Georgia Tech produced a high scoring conference game that was played at a furious pace. The teams combined for 86 points….in a November gridiron battle. This up-tempo game occurred just months before the two schools combined for the same amount of points on the hardwood. A 45-41 Clemson victory was just one of many low scoring games this past season. While possessions and scoring increased in ACC football play, the same cannot be said for basketball.

Sure, ACC play will feature big time games and coaching match-ups with the addition of Louisville and Rick Pitino, but gone are the days of multiple teams averaging over 70 possessions a game. With the majority of conference coaches relying on a more grind it out, methodical type approach, the ACC will continue to lag behind its counterparts when it comes to tempo. The ACC and Commissioner Swofford are looking towards the future with the unveiling of a 30 second shot clock in exhibition games; however the full time adoption can’t come soon enough.

All date from kenpom.com