Today, I continue the coaching series with the defensive four factors for the coaches in the Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12. I average the four factors over all years with the team. And since new hires have no data, I present their numbers with their previous team. BCS coaches are then ranked from 1-73.  (Miami has not hired coach 74 yet.)

The Big Ten gets a reputation for great defense, but it is usually the Big Ten’s slow pace that contributes to the low scores. Still, there are some standout defensive performances. Over multiple seasons, Bruce Weber’s teams have been the best in the Big Ten at forcing missed shots. And no coach in the nation gets his teams to crash the defensive boards better than Bo Ryan. Meanwhile, Matt Painter’s teams have been pretty adept at forcing turnovers, but not nearly as adept as newcomer Doc Sadler’s squads.

Speaking of turnovers, thank goodness Northwestern’s quirky 1-3-1 defense forces some turnovers because Bill Carmody’s teams have consistently failed to force missed shots and grab defensive boards. That’s a deadly combination. And it also explains why a patient, careful team like Wisconsin seems to crush Northwestern every year.

The best thing you can say about Thad Matta’s teams is that they never foul. And that’s a seven-year trend. Tom Crean’s teams on the other hand, foul about as much as humanly possible.

Last summer, based on his pedigree at Wright St., I predicted Brad Brownell would have a great defensive team at Clemson. And that’s exactly what happened. Brownell’s team forced missed shots at a very high clip last season. His eFG% against in his first season compared to the long-run average for Mike Krzyzewski, and that’s a high compliment. Of course, any coach can have a good defensive team for one year, the key is to keep it up for the long-haul. Even Leonard Hamilton, whose teams have been great defensively lately, has not always had great defensive teams every year.

Roy Williams teams are often underrated defensively, particularly in the post, where North Carolina has had a steady chain of solid defensive rebounders.

The only good thing you can say about Steve Donahue’s Boston College defense in his first year is that his team never fouled. The rest of the numbers were not pretty.

Seth Greenberg gets a lot of credit for having a grind-it-out defensive team, but he’s had some pretty bad defenses over the years including 2006 and 2009. On the whole, Gary Williams teams have been much more consistent at forcing missed shots, and almost as good at forcing turnovers.

As for the two new coaches, despite using full-court pressure at times, Brian Gregory’s teams have won by taking care of fundamentals in that chaos. They force misses and grab rebounds. In that way, his defense is very similar to Roy Williams’ defense. Meanwhile, Mark Gottfried’s Alabama teams were only average defensively, and that was not enough for him to keep his job with his former employer.

Two things stand out when you look at the Pac-12. First, the amount of turnover has been huge. Certainly some of the previous coaches were doing a poor job and that contributed to the lack of continuity, but when Herb Sendek is the 3^rd longest tenured coach, you understand why many of these programs are still rebuilding. So far almost no coaches have stood out on the defensive end except Kevin O’Neill. I think the best conferences are those with diverse styles of play, and there’s no doubt that O’Neill’s teams are unique in the Pac-12. O’Neill’s teams force an incredible number of missed shots and grab almost all the defensive rebounds.

Keep an eye on Dana Altman’s ability to force turnovers. He likes to play a long rotation, and it will be interesting to see how that continues when he starts to have some better players in his program.