This weekend’s Final Four games will be played on an elevated basketball court for the fourth straight year.

On a Feb. 24 episode of The B.S. Report, Turner Sports basketball analyst Steve Kerr discussed the shooting difficulties players faced during the 2011 Final Four. He explained the extra space of the playing venue impacted shooting.

“In all three games, the shooting was awful,” Kerr said. “If you look at the Final Four the last couple of years, the quality of shooting has been really down.”

In 2009, the NCAA tournament organizers began placing the court in the middle of football venues hosting the Final Four. The court stands 27 inches above the ground.

Here’s a comparison of the shooting percentages of Final Four and national championship games played on elevated and non-elevated courts.

Elevated Courts

Game Shooting Percentage Connecticut vs. Michigan State-2009 Final Four-Detroit, Mich.-Ford Field .427 North Carolina vs. Villanova-2009 Final Four-Detroit, Mich.-Ford Field .362 Michigan State vs. North Carolina-2009 National Championship Game-Detroit, Mich.-Ford Field .431 Butler vs. Michigan State-2010 Final Four-Indianapolis, Ind.-Lucas Oil Stadium .363 Duke vs. West Virginia-2010 Final Four-Indianapolis, Ind.-Lucas Oil Stadium .475 Butler vs. Duke-2010 National Championship Game-Indianapolis, Ind.-Lucas Oil Stadium .391 Butler vs. Virginia Commonwealth-2011 Final Four-Houston, Texas-Reliant Stadium .376 Connecticut vs. Kentucky-2011 Final Four-Houston, Texas-Reliant Stadium .396 Butler vs. Connecticut-2011 National Championship Game-Houston, Texas-Reliant Stadium .261

Average shooting percentage=.387

Non-elevated Courts

Game Shooting Percentage Louisiana State vs. UCLA-2006 Final Four-Indianapolis, Ind.-RCA Dome .366 Florida vs. George Mason-2006 Final Four-Indianapolis, Ind.-RCA Dome .422 Florida vs. UCLA-2006 National Championship Game-Indianapolis, Ind.-RCA Dome .403 Georgetown vs. Ohio State-2007 Final Four-Atlanta, Ga.-Georgia Dome .463 Florida vs. UCLA-2007 Final Four-Atlanta, Ga.-Georgia Dome .450 Florida vs. Ohio State-2007 National Championship Game-Atlanta, Ga.-Georgia Dome .479 Memphis vs. UCLA-2008 Final Four -San Antonio, Texas-Alamodome .398 Kansas vs. North Carolina-2008 Final Four-San Antonio, Texas-Alamodome .443 Kansas vs. Memphis-2008 National Championship Game-San Antonio, Texas-Alamodome .462

Average shooting percentage=.432

The elevated courts provide a challenge for the Final Four participants. Don’t expect strong shooting performances this weekend.

Photo credit:

John Clay’s Sidelines

Link to Feb. 24 B.S. Report Episode

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7611871

(Kerr discusses Final Four shooting from 7:00 to 7:40)