Manhattan also intentionally plays an ugly game of basketball and for much of the game dictated that pace. Interestingly enough, UConn's Adjusted Tempo actually went up after last night from 25 to 22 which I find surprising.
Two things:
- Kenpom Adjusted Tempo adjusts for the opponent's usual pace. So if we got Manhattan to play more possessions than their average, we get credit for a high Adjusted Tempo.
- Kenpom is still including some of last year in statistics, and with each game some of last year drops off. With the significantly faster tempo compared to last year, we get an exaggerated increase in Adjusted Tempo with each game played, more than what you'd expect from the game's statistics alone.
Against Manhattan UConn had 70.4 possessions (56 FGA, 14 OREB, 24 FTA, 17 TO, see
Ratings Glossary | The kenpom.com blog). Last year UConn averaged 68 possessions (32 games, 1832 FGA, 326 OREB, 593 FTA, 403 TO). Manhattan this year is averaging 64 possessions.