Date of Award


Document Type


Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)


Health, Physical Education and Recreation

First Advisor

Dr. Kris Berg


Basketball has been considered to require players to employ extensive amount of energy throughout games. However, research findings regarding bioenergetic traits and demands of actual basketball performance has been considerably limited. The purpose of this study was to describe and assess bioenergetic traits of actual basketball performance in collegiate female and male players by measuring oxygen consumption (V02), heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BLC), as well as rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and performing a time-motion analysis in team scrimmages. Six female and six male collegiate basketball players (20,0 ±1.2 and 20.8 ± 0.9 years old, respectively) were asked to play team basketball scrimmages while wearing portable measurement systems. V 02 and HR were measured by the portable systems during play, and BLC and RPE were measured during alternate resting periods. Additionally, the subject’s performance was videotaped throughout the scrimmage to conduct time-motion analysis. The female and male players demonstrated mean V 02 values of 33.4 ± 3.6 and 37.0 ± 2.4 ml/kg/min, respectively during play; while mean BLC values were 3.2 ± 0.8 and 4.1 ± 1.2 mmol/L, respectively. They spent 34.1 % of play time performing active movements while 56.9 % o f time walking and 9.0 % standing. No significant differences were observed between the females and males in the variables measured (p > 0.05), except that the males expended significantly greater energy through the scrimmages (49.2 %; p < 0.05). V 02max values obtained from a preliminary testing were significantly correlated to V 02 during play (r = 0.673 for all subjects; p < 0.05) and percent of duration for active movements during play (r = 0.936 and 0.962 for the females and males, respectively; p < 0.05). These results suggest that female and male collegiate basketball require extensive utilization of aerobic metabolism during play and enhancement of aerobic capacity may be beneficial to improve the quality of performance in basketball. In conclusion, this study revealed greater oxygen cost playing basketball than previously expected and demonstrated other specific bioenergetic traits of female and male collegiate basketball.

