Then she opened up a book of poems and handed it to me, written by an Italian poet from the thirteenth century. "Tangled Up in Blue" - Bob Dylan
← Efficiency

Defensive Efficiency

Points allowed per 100 possessions.

100 × season points allowed ÷ opponents' season possessions. Possessions aren't in the box score, so they're estimated as FGA − OffReb + TO + 0.475×FTA (the standard estimator). Per-possession accounting keeps a slow, stingy-looking defense and a fast, leaky-looking one on the same scale.

Lower is better  ·  league avg 104.3  ·  as of 2026-11-04

Team Distribution

Season-to-date value for every team, with a density curve.

min 53.3 max 159.6 mean 104.3 std 20.0 (n=278)

By Conference

A dot per team, best conference average at the top. The tick marks each conference's mean.

Does it predict winners?

Weak standalone predictor of the winner.

See the game-by-game scatter on the Predictor page →

Team Rankings

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# Team Defensive Efficiency z Pctl GP
1 George Washington 53.3 -2.55 100 1
2 Texas Tech 58.6 -2.28 100 1
3 Illinois 59.8 -2.22 99 1
4 UConn 63.6 -2.03 99 1
5 Xavier 64.6 -1.98 99 1
6 West Virginia 64.9 -1.97 98 1
7 Marquette 65.8 -1.92 98 1
8 Seton Hall 67.6 -1.84 97 1
9 Vanderbilt 67.9 -1.82 97 1
10 LSU 70.3 -1.70 97 1
11 Duke 71.1 -1.66 96 1
12 Houston 71.5 -1.64 96 1
13 Virginia Tech 71.6 -1.63 96 1
14 Georgia Tech 72.1 -1.61 95 1
15 Nevada 72.1 -1.61 95 1
16 Minnesota 72.4 -1.59 95 1
17 Cincinnati 73.1 -1.56 94 1
18 Missouri 73.4 -1.54 94 1
19 Belmont 73.9 -1.52 94 1
20 George Mason 74.7 -1.48 93 1
21 Murray State 75.6 -1.43 93 1
22 Butler 77.2 -1.35 92 1
23 Oregon State 77.5 -1.34 92 1
24 Pittsburgh 77.6 -1.34 92 1
25 Georgia Southern 77.6 -1.33 91 1
26 Texas A&M 77.6 -1.33 91 1
27 Ole Miss 77.8 -1.32 91 1
28 Boston College 78.0 -1.31 90 1
29 Central Arkansas 78.1 -1.31 90 1
30 Arkansas 78.2 -1.31 90 1
31 Providence 78.5 -1.29 89 1
32 Penn State 78.9 -1.27 89 1
33 DePaul 79.1 -1.26 88 1
34 New Mexico 79.3 -1.25 88 1
35 Oklahoma State 79.3 -1.25 88 1
36 Iowa 79.4 -1.24 87 1
37 Virginia 79.7 -1.23 87 1
38 TCU 79.8 -1.23 87 1
39 Old Dominion 80.0 -1.22 86 1
40 Utah State 80.1 -1.21 86 1
41 North Florida 80.3 -1.20 86 1
42 Indiana 81.1 -1.16 85 1
43 Florida Atlantic 81.1 -1.16 85 1
44 Michigan State 81.5 -1.14 84 1
45 Loyola Chicago 81.8 -1.13 84 1
46 Tennessee 82.0 -1.11 84 1
47 Temple 82.1 -1.11 83 1
48 Rhode Island 82.4 -1.09 83 1
49 Valparaiso 82.9 -1.07 83 1
50 Dayton 83.0 -1.06 82 1
51 St. John's 83.3 -1.05 82 1
52 Texas 83.5 -1.04 82 1
53 New Hampshire 83.8 -1.03 81 1
54 Baylor 84.0 -1.02 81 1
55 Colorado 84.2 -1.01 81 1
56 Creighton 84.3 -1.00 80 1
57 USC 85.0 -0.97 80 1
58 Georgia 85.2 -0.95 79 1
59 Kansas 85.3 -0.95 79 1
60 Marshall 85.6 -0.94 79 1
61 Western Kentucky 85.7 -0.93 78 1
62 App State 86.4 -0.89 78 1
63 Kentucky 86.5 -0.89 78 1
64 High Point 87.5 -0.84 77 1
65 Texas State 87.8 -0.83 77 1
66 Akron 87.8 -0.82 77 1
67 Vermont 87.9 -0.82 76 1
68 Georgetown 87.9 -0.82 76 1
69 Florida State 88.3 -0.80 75 1
70 Nebraska 88.7 -0.78 75 1
71 Massachusetts 88.7 -0.78 75 1
72 Wake Forest 89.0 -0.77 74 1
73 Arkansas State 90.0 -0.72 74 1
74 Bryant 90.1 -0.71 74 1
75 Syracuse 90.2 -0.70 73 1
76 San Francisco 90.4 -0.70 73 1
77 Iona 90.6 -0.69 73 1
78 Dartmouth 90.7 -0.68 72 1
79 Davidson 90.7 -0.68 72 1
80 NC State 91.7 -0.63 71 1
81 Alabama 91.8 -0.63 71 1
82 Brown 91.9 -0.62 71 1
83 Saint Louis 92.0 -0.62 70 1
84 Northwestern 92.1 -0.61 70 1
85 South Florida 92.2 -0.60 70 1
86 South Carolina 92.4 -0.59 69 1
87 Florida 92.7 -0.58 69 1
88 Maryland 93.5 -0.54 69 1
89 East Texas A&M 93.8 -0.52 68 1
90 Yale 94.5 -0.49 68 1
91 California Baptist 95.2 -0.45 68 1
92 Michigan 95.4 -0.44 67 1
93 Wisconsin 95.8 -0.43 67 1
94 SMU 95.8 -0.42 66 1
95 Utah 96.1 -0.41 66 1
96 East Carolina 96.2 -0.41 66 1
97 Hampton 96.3 -0.40 65 1
98 Santa Clara 96.8 -0.38 65 1
99 Ball State 97.0 -0.37 65 1
100 Wright State 97.0 -0.37 64 1
101 Hawai'i 97.2 -0.35 64 1
102 Toledo 97.4 -0.35 64 1
103 Richmond 97.4 -0.35 63 1
104 South Dakota State 97.7 -0.33 63 1
105 Long Island University 97.7 -0.33 62 1
106 Marist 98.0 -0.32 62 1
107 North Alabama 98.4 -0.30 62 1
108 Southern Indiana 98.6 -0.29 61 1
109 Grand Canyon 98.8 -0.28 61 1
110 Louisville 99.1 -0.26 61 1
111 San Diego State 99.5 -0.24 60 1
112 San José State 99.8 -0.23 60 1
113 Long Beach State 100.0 -0.22 60 1
114 VCU 100.0 -0.22 59 1
115 Youngstown State 100.0 -0.22 59 1
116 Siena 100.2 -0.21 58 1
117 Bowling Green 100.4 -0.20 58 1
118 Duquesne 100.4 -0.20 58 1
119 Colorado State 101.3 -0.15 57 1
120 Western Michigan 101.4 -0.15 57 1
121 Southeast Missouri State 101.4 -0.14 57 1
122 Stanford 101.6 -0.14 56 1
123 Oregon 102.0 -0.12 56 1
124 Notre Dame 102.1 -0.11 56 1
125 Seattle U 102.1 -0.11 55 1
126 Northern Kentucky 102.2 -0.11 55 1
127 UCLA 102.4 -0.10 55 1
128 West Georgia 102.4 -0.10 54 1
129 Troy 102.7 -0.08 54 1
130 Kansas State 102.8 -0.08 53 1
131 Central Connecticut 103.4 -0.05 53 1
132 Eastern Michigan 103.6 -0.04 53 1
133 Furman 103.6 -0.04 52 1
134 Monmouth 104.2 -0.01 52 1
135 Villanova 104.4 +0.00 52 1
136 Miami (OH) 104.6 +0.01 51 1
137 Denver 104.8 +0.02 51 1
138 UC Davis 104.9 +0.03 51 1
139 Washington 105.0 +0.03 50 1
140 North Carolina Central 105.1 +0.04 50 1
141 Arizona State 105.3 +0.05 49 1
142 Gonzaga 105.9 +0.08 49 1
143 Oklahoma 106.0 +0.08 49 1
144 American University 106.0 +0.08 48 1
145 North Carolina 106.2 +0.09 48 1
146 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 106.4 +0.10 48 1
147 Ohio 106.5 +0.11 47 1
148 Charlotte 106.5 +0.11 47 1
149 Central Michigan 107.2 +0.14 47 1
150 Saint Peter's 107.5 +0.16 46 1
151 Coastal Carolina 107.9 +0.18 46 1
152 Liberty 107.9 +0.18 45 1
153 Memphis 108.3 +0.20 45 1
154 Howard 108.4 +0.20 45 1
155 Elon 108.4 +0.20 44 1
156 Clemson 108.6 +0.21 44 1
157 Western Carolina 108.7 +0.22 44 1
158 Kansas City 108.7 +0.22 43 1
159 Jackson State 109.0 +0.23 43 1
160 Purdue Fort Wayne 109.1 +0.24 43 1
161 McNeese 109.5 +0.26 42 1
162 Merrimack 109.6 +0.26 42 1
163 Louisiana Tech 109.6 +0.26 42 1
164 Georgia State 109.6 +0.26 41 1
165 St. Thomas 110.1 +0.28 41 1
166 Saint Mary's 110.5 +0.31 40 1
167 Miami 110.6 +0.31 40 1
168 UNLV 111.0 +0.33 40 1
169 St. Bonaventure 111.3 +0.35 39 1
170 Cornell 111.4 +0.35 39 1
171 Iowa State 111.6 +0.36 39 1
172 Southern 111.8 +0.37 38 1
173 Northwestern State 111.9 +0.37 38 1
174 Tennessee State 112.2 +0.39 38 1
175 Purdue 112.8 +0.42 37 1
176 Lipscomb 113.2 +0.44 37 2
177 Mississippi State 113.5 +0.46 36 1
178 Wagner 113.6 +0.46 36 1
179 Arizona 113.7 +0.47 36 1
180 Eastern Washington 113.7 +0.47 35 1
181 Louisiana 113.8 +0.47 35 1
182 Radford 114.1 +0.49 35 1
183 Oakland 114.3 +0.50 34 1
184 Montana State 114.4 +0.50 34 1
185 UMBC 114.8 +0.52 34 1
186 Boston University 115.0 +0.53 33 1
187 Pepperdine 115.1 +0.53 33 1
188 Maryland Eastern Shore 115.5 +0.56 32 1
189 Drexel 115.5 +0.56 32 1
190 UTEP 115.6 +0.56 32 1
191 Tulane 115.7 +0.56 31 1
192 Washington State 115.7 +0.57 31 1
193 Loyola Maryland 115.8 +0.57 31 1
194 New Haven 115.9 +0.57 30 1
195 James Madison 116.1 +0.59 30 1
196 Chattanooga 116.1 +0.59 30 1
197 UT Martin 116.5 +0.61 29 1
198 Western Illinois 116.9 +0.63 29 1
199 Bethune-Cookman 117.5 +0.65 29 1
200 Little Rock 117.5 +0.65 28 1
201 UL Monroe 117.6 +0.66 28 1
202 Oral Roberts 118.1 +0.69 27 1
203 Sam Houston 118.5 +0.71 27 1
204 Alabama State 118.6 +0.71 27 1
205 Gardner-Webb 118.8 +0.72 26 1
206 Campbell 119.3 +0.75 26 1
207 Army 119.4 +0.75 26 1
208 Illinois State 119.4 +0.75 25 1
209 Towson 119.5 +0.76 25 1
210 Indiana State 120.0 +0.78 25 1
211 Morehead State 120.1 +0.78 24 1
212 Maine 120.2 +0.79 24 1
213 South Carolina Upstate 120.5 +0.81 23 1
214 Mount St. Mary's 120.7 +0.82 23 1
215 Buffalo 121.0 +0.83 23 1
216 Florida Gulf Coast 121.4 +0.85 22 1
217 BYU 122.0 +0.88 22 1
218 UCF 122.1 +0.88 22 1
219 East Tennessee State 122.2 +0.89 21 1
220 LSU New Orleans 122.7 +0.92 21 1
221 Lafayette 123.0 +0.93 21 1
222 Mercyhurst 123.1 +0.94 20 1
223 South Alabama 123.7 +0.96 20 1
224 Queens University 123.7 +0.97 19 1
225 The Citadel 123.8 +0.97 19 1
226 Columbia 124.1 +0.98 19 1
227 Milwaukee 124.3 +1.00 18 1
228 Fordham 124.6 +1.01 18 1
229 North Dakota 124.7 +1.01 18 1
230 Charleston Southern 124.8 +1.02 17 1
231 Incarnate Word 125.0 +1.03 17 1
232 Niagara 125.6 +1.06 17 1
233 Cal State Fullerton 125.7 +1.06 16 1
234 Weber State 125.7 +1.06 16 1
235 Wofford 125.7 +1.07 16 1
236 Montana 126.0 +1.08 15 1
237 La Salle 126.0 +1.08 15 1
238 Kent State 126.4 +1.10 14 1
239 Texas Southern 126.4 +1.10 14 1
240 Colgate 126.6 +1.11 14 1
241 Coppin State 126.9 +1.12 13 1
242 Grambling 127.1 +1.13 13 1
243 Lindenwood 127.2 +1.14 13 1
244 UTSA 127.6 +1.16 12 1
245 Rider 127.7 +1.16 12 1
246 Eastern Illinois 127.8 +1.17 12 1
247 Presbyterian 128.0 +1.18 11 1
248 Lehigh 128.1 +1.18 11 1
249 Winthrop 128.2 +1.19 10 1
250 Northeastern 128.7 +1.22 10 1
251 NJIT 129.0 +1.23 10 1
252 Utah Tech 129.2 +1.24 9 1
253 Alcorn State 129.3 +1.24 9 1
254 Canisius 129.7 +1.27 9 1
255 Manhattan 130.3 +1.30 8 1
256 Robert Morris 130.5 +1.30 8 1
257 Northern Arizona 130.5 +1.30 8 1
258 Navy 130.7 +1.32 7 1
259 Northern Illinois 131.3 +1.35 7 1
260 Idaho State 131.6 +1.36 6 1
261 UNC Asheville 131.6 +1.36 6 1
262 Quinnipiac 132.7 +1.41 6 1
263 Bellarmine 133.1 +1.43 5 1
264 Stetson 133.6 +1.46 5 2
265 Bucknell 133.8 +1.47 5 1
266 Tennessee Tech 135.5 +1.56 4 1
267 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 136.0 +1.58 4 1
268 Air Force 136.0 +1.58 4 1
269 Abilene Christian 137.2 +1.64 3 1
270 Ohio State 138.6 +1.71 3 1
271 Binghamton 139.0 +1.73 3 1
272 UAB 141.2 +1.84 2 1
273 Holy Cross 141.2 +1.84 2 1
274 Florida A&M 141.5 +1.85 1 1
275 Le Moyne 142.7 +1.91 1 1
276 Chicago State 157.1 +2.63 1 1
277 Fairleigh Dickinson 158.7 +2.71 0 1
278 Cleveland State 159.6 +2.76 0 1