If you’ve been watching NCAA basketball this year it’s been hard not to notice the newly minted 20’9” men’s three-point line, if for no other reason than it looks strange on the floor – just outside the old distance (19’9”), not quite the same as the international distance (20’6”) and still a good ways from the NBA line (23’9” and 22’ in the corners). So they moved it back a little, but what impact has it had so far?Comparing the stats of the top 100 three-point shooting teams (by attempts) in the 2007-08 season versus those in the 2008 season attempts are down some, from 22.8 to 22.0 per game, made shots are also down, from 8.15 to 7.56 and the shooting percentage has dipped about a percent and a half from 35.8% to 34.3%. So, it’s having just about the effect that you might expect. As a whole, everything is down across the board, but the top shooting teams aren’t fazed.
VMI is leading the country in attempts (for the third straight year) and converting a much better percentage of their attempts this year, 38.5% versus 32.2% last year.Oklahoma State is taking and making almost 3 more three-point shots per game, leading to a significant increase in shooting percentage, from 34.6% to 41.1%.
Overall, the rule change seems to be affecting the game exactly as the NCAA desired. The court has been spread a little bit, improving the flow of the game and the importance of the three-point shot has been slightly diminished.
