UConn’s Alex Karaban Confirms Theory About The Basketballs Causing Trouble At The NCAA Tournament

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Sloppy play and unexpectedly low-scoring games are just a couple of the factors that give college basketball its unique charm, but a theory that suggests the balls being used at the NCAA Tournament have contributed to both of those occurrences might be rooted in reality based on what UConn forward Alex Karaban had to say about his experience so far.

I’m going to assume most people reading this recall the laughable levels of hysteria we were treated to when Tom Brady and the Patriots ended up at the center of “Deflategate,” but football isn’t the only sport where air pressure can have an impact on games.

Most people probably don’t put too much thought into the inflation levels of the basketballs used in NCAA games, which are supposed to weigh a maximum of 22 ounces.

However, plenty of people seem to think the balls that have been used in most of the contests during the ongoing NCAA Tournament have been uncharacteristically bouncy—a theory championed by Bobby Perez, a shooting coach who went viral last week after posting a series of TikTok videos where he argued overinflated balls have contributed to a spike in dribbling and shooting woes.

One of those videos focused on the issues UConn had shooting the ball from behind the arc during its first two games, with Perez arguing the Huskies were routinely seeing their shots go long because the balls they’re playing with contained more air than they’re accustomed to (UConn shot .358  from deep during the regular season but has seen that number drop to .280 during the tournament with the help of a brutal 3-for-22 showing against Northwestern).

Alex Karaban lent some credence to that theory during an appearance on the Connecticut Scoreboard Podcast on Sunday, saying, “I think the ball has too much air in it” while adding other people have complained about the grip.

While every team is obviously impacted by an overinflated ball, seeing them become an issue during college basketball’s biggest event is a look the NCAA would prefer to avoid, so it’ll be interesting to see if the issue is addressed when the Final Four kicks off.