MADISON, Wis. - Max Klesmit saw an opportunity like one that he had taken advantage of many times before.

As Rutgers forward Mawot Mag started to drive to the rim, Klesmit took three steps and a little shuffle into his path, put his arms up, and took the contact as the whistle blew. If this were last season, Klesmit fully believes the basket would have been waved off from the charge he drew, and UW would have regained possession.

But with the new rules surrounding the block-charge call, Klesmit had no such luck.

“The game is changing,” he said. “It’s got drastically harder to get that call on a consistent level.”

There are a lot of reasons for UW’s regression defensively, allowing an average of 6.0 points more per game compared to last season and dropping from 13th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency to 63rd but one to point to is how the change to the block-charge rule has taken out a piece of its defensive scheme.

Wisconsin drew 82 offensive fouls in 35 games last season, an average of 2.34 per game that combines moving screens, low-post contact, and the block charge. Entering game number 32 in Thursday’s Big Ten Tournament second round, that number has dropped to 52 (1.67).

The Badgers drew only 28 offensive fouls in Big Ten play this season. UW drew an offensive foul in every Big Ten game last season but has gone six games without them this year.

The play was a staple of Wisconsin’s defensive DNA and provided as much of a momentum boost as anything on the offensive end.

The Badgers drew three offensive fouls in the first five minutes of their 43-42 victory over Dayton in the Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals, including on back-to-back possessions in the opening two minutes. Wisconsin drew 10 offensive fouls alone last season against Penn State, helping the Badgers beat the Nittany Lions twice by a combined eight points.

At Rutgers, instead of drawing an early foul on a starter, Klesmit got his first of two early fouls, forcing him to sit for the final 15:25 of a first half that the Scarlet Knights dominated.

“It does help momentum being able to take a charge, get the call going the other way, and get the crowd into it, especially if we’re at home,” Klesmit said. “It’s trying to use that to your advantage and knowing when to pick your spots of when you can and can’t do it.”

Offensive fouls have been on the decline the previous two seasons. According to a play-by-play analysis done by Ken Pomeroy last month, offensive fouls went from 3.72 per game two years ago to 3.47 last season, likely due to the implementation of the flopping rule leading to a technical foul.

This season, offensive fouls have dropped to 2.23 per game as of early February.

Getting briefed on the rule at the beginning of the season, graduate forward Tyler Wahl’s biggest takeaway was that unless the contact was egregious, defenders wouldn't get the whistle they did in past years.

“It’s definitely a little more difficult,” Wahl said. “Whether it’s the rotations or the athletes that we have now or the bigger (charge) circle that we have, it’s always been a tough call to make, and I feel getting rid of it makes the game a little easier for the offense.”

The ruling in June from the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel came on a recommendation from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee, which drafted the proposal after NCAA members complained that too many charges were being called in those bang-bang plays.

Under the previous rule, defenders had to be in a position to draw a charge before the offensive player went airborne. This season, defenders are required to be in a position to draw a charge at the time the offensive player plants a foot to go airborne for a shot. If the defender arrives after the player has planted a foot, the call is a block.

The rule change also states that a secondary defender would have to be outside the restricted area arc to legally draw a charge.

“A lot of times, back in the day in transition, that was a great opportunity to take a charge on guys,” UW assistant coach Dean Oliver said, noting Klesmit’s charge call was on the fast break. “Now it’s more player control. As a help defender coming over to help, it’s really hard to get a charge if guys are already moving and taking a step toward the basket. It’s more on the ball where you can get offensive fouls when guys are out of control, lower a shoulder, or push off.

“You used to be able to stand your ground and an offender jumped or on his way to jump, and you can take a charge that way. You really can’t. You have to avoid it or be extra careful now. It really makes it not worth it, and you lean toward not taking them right now.”

Player health is part of the reason, but the main underlying reason is to increase scoring and, thus viewership.

The NCAA added the restricted arc three feet from underneath the basket more than a decade ago, requiring defenders to be outside it to take a charge. Three years later, the NCAA moved it a foot further out in time for the 2015-16 season.

With this latest change, the college game continues to trend towards more freedom of movement.

Last season, Gonzaga led the nation at 85.2 ppg, 12 teams averaged 80 ppg, and 23 schools had an adjusted offensive efficiency of 115.0 points per 100 possessions.

As of March 13, 34 schools are averaging at least 80 points per game with 48 teams with better than 115.0 offensive efficiency.

In the eyes of head coach Greg Gard, either the rule is having an effect or there are a lot of bad defenses this season in college basketball.

“That’s the ultimate goal of why they wanted to do that,” he said, “to have more defensive fouls called which resulted in more free throws attempted which hopefully resulted in scores going up.”

Wisconsin has worked to evolve its defense with the changes. The Badgers work more on jump ball at the rim than charges. During practices, the staff tapes boxes around the halfcourt to emphasize the game’s changing geometry, pressuring defenses by spreading them out and forcing them to rely on help and recovery.

It’s required the defensive player to make more athletic plays at the rim, instead of the offensive player watching out for the lurking guard ready to slide over and hold his ground.

“When it doubt, it’s going to be a block,” Gard said. “Those days of Brad Davison drawing five charges against N.C. State, those days are gone by.”

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_

*Like us on Facebook