Events Indicating the Start of Behavioral Momentum in Men's Division I-A Intercollegiate Basketball Games

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine which events indicate the start of behavioral momentum in men's Division I-A intercollegiate basketball games. The researcher videotaped 15 televised games, and recorded offensive and defensive events for both teams in sequence on a frequency chart. Each event was assigned a specific momentum point value. Defensive events began a period of momentum 50% of the time, and offensive events began a period of momentum 50% of the time. A chi-square analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between a defensive event and an offensive event in relation to the start of a period of behavioral momentum. Once a period of momentum was established, the team with momentum outscored the opponent 94. 7% of the time during the given momentum period. However, there was no evidence to indicate the team that established more momentum periods during a game had a better chance of winning the contest. The use of a time-out called by the non-momentum team was determined to be an effective intervention to end the period of momentum. The instrument used in this study was found to be more objective and sensitive than previously used instruments, but future research is necessary to further develop and validate an instrument to reliably measure periods of momentum.