The first half of a game is usually much more action-packed than the second. The first half tends to be more tense, with teams jostling for position and trying to establish their own dominance. This means that you often see a lot of fast breaks and free throws in the first half.

The second half sees both teams settle into a rhythm. They have figured out the game plan and are playing at their most effective. As a result, they tend to play slower and less explosive. You will therefore see fewer fast breaks and free throws as both teams try to run up the score before the end of the game.

That being said, there are still plenty of things you can predict about a team based on what they do in the first half of games. If you understand how teams tend to play at different points in games, it becomes easier to make predictions from before halftime until after the final buzzer has sounded.

To help you get started with this, we’ve outlined five tips you can use to accurately predict whether a team will win either half of a game:

Don’t underestimate the importance of tempo

The pace of a game can have a massive impact on how a team performs. When a game is played at a high tempo, teams are more likely to run up the score and are more likely to make mistakes because they are trying to play so fast.

When a game is played at a slow pace, teams are more likely to play methodically, with more focus on execution and less on trying to outscore each other. The best way to determine if a team is playing at a high or low tempo is to watch how often the ball goes in and out of play.

If you see a lot of back and forth or in-and-outs, the team is likely playing at a faster pace. On the other hand, if you notice a lot of long passes and possessions where the ball never leaves the court, you know the team is playing more methodically.

Look for trends in defence

You can often predict how a team will perform on defence just by looking at how they defended in the first half. When watching a team’s defence, you should look out for certain patterns. For example, you might notice that a team frequently gives up easy shots in the low post.

If this is the case, it might be a good idea to predict that the team will struggle on defence in the second half as they will be trying to play more aggressively and make more mistakes. You should also look for trends in how a team defends at various locations around the court.

For example, if you notice that a team tends to play tight on the wings in the first half, but adopts a more lax approach near the middle of the floor for the second half, you have your answer.

Watch how teams create opportunities from rebounds

One thing you can predict from the defensive end is where a team will get their shots from. If you know where a team will make their shots, you can predict how they will get them. There are two main ways teams use to create opportunities from rebounds.

The first is to get the ball into the hands of the player who is guarding the player who was fouled. The second is for the player who rebounds the ball to drive to the basket. Teams will usually choose one of these two options. If you know which it is, you’ll be in a better position to predict how a game will end.

Know when a team will press and when it won’t

One of the most common things you will see teams do in the first half is press. Pressing occurs when a team aggressively wants the ball, but doesn’t want to give up easy shots.

To do this, they will swarm the ball-handler, trying to force them into an error. On the other hand, a team will usually try to play more of a laid-back defence in the second half. In the first half, they want to aggressively prevent the other team from having easy shots.

As the game goes on, it makes sense that they relax that approach a little bit. This is the best way to predict when a team will press in the second half. If a team consistently presses in the first half, it will likely press in the second half as well.

Bottom line

So there you have it, five tips to help you predict a team to win either half of a game. Good luck, and happy crunching!