College Basketball: The 10 Most Efficient Teams in College Hoops

A good way to see how efficiently a team is performing is to determine the amount of points they are scoring compared with the number of shots (field goal attempts) they are taking.

Rather than wasting possessions, these teams are making better use of the ball than anyone else.

Even if you are not a stats geek like me, here are the 10 most efficient teams in college basketball.

10. (Tie) Middle Tennessee, Campbell, and North Dakota State

These three teams may not be featured on SportsCenter any time soon, but each of them has beaten some widely known programs and may be the kind of squads that will be fun to watch come NCAA Tournament time.

This season, MTSU (15-2) has beaten UCLA (by 20 points in L.A.), Belmont and Ole Miss.

Campbell (10-8) knocked off Iowa by 16 on the road.

North Dakota State (12-4) beat Fresno State and lost a close road game to Minnesota.

Each of these teams is averaging 1.41 points per shot.

8. (Tie) New Mexico State and Oregon State

Oregon State (11-5) gets it done (83.7 ppg; No. 5 in the nation) with balanced scoring from six different players (Jared Cunningham, Ahmad Starks, Devon Collier, Roberto Nelson, Joe Burton and Angus Brandt) who average double figures.

New Mexico State (12-5) has a strong inside game led by Wendell McKines (18.1 ppg; 10.7 rpg).

The Beavers and Aggies both average 1.42 points per shot.

7. Creighton

The No. 21-ranked Creighton Blue Jays (14-2), led by the nation's second leading scorer, Doug McDermott (pictured), share the ball (19.9 assists per game; No. 2 in the nation), shoot the ball well (51.1 percent from the field; No. 2 in the nation) and score lots of points (81.9 ppg; No. 8 in the nation).

No wonder they average 1.43 points per shot.

6. Murray State

Murray State is off to a perfect 17-0 start. They are currently one of three unbeaten teams (along with Syracuse and Baylor) and are ranked No. 14.

The Racers are the fourth best three-point shooting team in the country, knocking down 44.6 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.

All of their top six scorers, led by Isaiah Canaan (pictured), shoots at least 40 percent from downtown.

Murray State averages 1.44 points per shot.

5. Denver

The Denver Pioneers are off to a good 13-4 start under Princeton-grad Joe Scott.

Not surprisingly, DU plays a deliberate pace and shoots the ball well (48.7 percent from the field).  

Brian Stafford (pictured) leads the team in scoring (14.6 ppg).

Denver averages 1.45 points per shot.

4. Missouri

Missouri is off to a great start (15-1; ranked No. 9) under first-year head coach Frank Haith.

Marcus Denmon leads the Tigers' perimeter-based attack that leads the nation in FG percentage (51.1 percent) and is currently No. 4 in scoring at 83.9 points per game.

Missouri averages 1.46 points per shot.

3. Indiana

IU Basketball is back (15-2) and playing at a very high level.

Tom Crean has the Hoosiers shooting the ball well (50.1 percent; No. 5 in the nation) and scoring lots of points (81.9 ppg; No. 9 in the nation).

Indiana's Fab Frosh, Cody Zeller leads the team in scoring (14.7 ppg) and field goal shooting (64.5 percent).

IU is averaging 1.48 points per shot. 

1. (Tie) Colorado State

Colorado State (11-4) is tied for being the most efficient team in the country (1.49 points per shot).

The Rams shoot the ball well from beyond the arc (43.6 percent; No. 5 in the nation) and from the floor (49.3 percent; No. 11 in the nation).

It will be interesting to watch the Mountain West Conference race this year. All eight schools enter conference play with at least ten wins.

1. (Tie) Duke

Duke (14-2; currently ranked No. 6) is tied with Colorado State for being the most efficient team in the nation (1.49 points per shot).

The Blue Devils shoot the ball well from the floor (49.9 percent; No. 6) and from beyond the arc (40.6 percent; No. 9 in the nation).

If Coach K's crew could do a better job from the free throw line (67.9 percent; tied for No. 189 with UTEP, Rice, New Jersey Institue of Technology, UAB and Stetson), they would run away with this catagory.