Five. That’s how many teams in NCAA Division I men’s basketball averaged 80-plus points per game in the 2014-15 season. This was also the last year that teams were using a 35-second shot clock. With five seconds chopped off for 2015-16, that total of five teams ballooned up to 27 schools that averaged at least 80 points per game. In Division III, there were 25 teams that put up a minimum of 80 per game in the ’14-’15 season, compared to the 77 that eclipsed that mark this past campaign. Central’s men went from 75.5 per game to just over 82 last season, despite not a big change in their style of play. Coach Craig Douma says the team’s ability to move the ball and stay cool under the pressure of late shot-clock situations helped them go as far as they did in March. Douma adds that the more teams can pass the ball effectively and without error, the better chance they have of catching the defense off guard and finding an open shot. Central will return all of their starters for the 2016-17 season.

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