[M T]

... but given that there were a grand total of three goals scored in the period, I was thinking it was still pretty early in the period, LOL.

Water polo is amazingly faced paced, IMO.  Games are only 32 minutes (four 8-minute quarters, 3 minutes between quarters, 5 minutes at the half) of playing time and typically about 1 hour wall clock time. The shot clock is 30 seconds.  Three two-minute timeouts and one 30-second timeout per team.  The clock is stopped for things like the ball out of bounds, after goals, etc.  When a foul (ordinary or exclusion) is called,  the other team can put the ball into play immediately (no taking it out of bounds or letting the offending team get into position, nor do teams substitute after a foul).  Overtime is different than basketball or football; more like soccer.

Typical scores are in the 8 to 15 goal range for the winning team.   No multiplying goals by 7 or 3 or 2, so the scores look low.

So shots are taken about as quickly as in basketball, far faster than soccer or football.  The game time is 20% less than basketball.   Pauses in play are MUCH shorter than in basketball or football.  Turnovers are maybe twice as frequent than basketball.  In today's game, Stanford hit 59% of its shots (very high) while USC hit 39% (a good percentage), so scoring efficiency is roughly equivalent to basketball.

The hardest thing for most people to understand is the officiating.  Heck, I played water polo (a half-century ago) and I can not follow the calls.  Away from the goal, you're allowed to touch an opponent if he is touching the ball, but if he drops it, you will be called for an ordinary foul since you're touching him and he no longer has the ball.  For an ordinary foul, the offensive player must be left alone for a free pass (outside the 5 meter line, he can take a shot). 

This changes close to the goal.  When a player in front of the goal doesn't have the ball, there is obvious grabbing and shoving, above and below the water.  But if the player gets the ball, then almost any kind of contact results in an ejection.  (If a player is ejected 3 times, he's out of the game permanently.)

The offense can't take the ball under the water. So if the defense can push the ball under, then they get possession.

Shots that are blocked by someone in the field and then go out of bounds result in the defense getting the ball.   But, if the goalie deflects the ball and it goes out of bounds, the offense gets the ball.

An offensive player can't be closer to the goal than the 2 meter line, unless he has the ball or the ball is closer to the end line. In recent years, they've changed that so there is an area toward each sideline where that doesn't apply.  The offense will often keep a player in that area, close to the end line. When he gets the ball, other offensive players (without the ball) can get very close to the goalie

[M T]

... but given that there were a grand total of three goals scored in the period, I was thinking it was still pretty early in the period, LOL.

Water polo is amazingly faced paced, IMO.  Games are only 32 minutes (four 8-minute quarters, 3 minutes between quarters, 5 minutes at the half) of playing time and typically about 1 hour wall clock time. The shot clock is 30 seconds.  Three two-minute timeouts and one 30-second timeout per team.  The clock is stopped for things like the ball out of bounds, after goals, etc.  When a foul (ordinary or exclusion) is called,  the other team can put the ball into play immediately (no taking it out of bounds or letting the offending team get into position, nor do teams substitute after a foul).  Overtime is different than basketball or football; more like soccer.

Typical scores are in the 8 to 15 goal range for the winning team.   No multiplying goals by 7 or 3 or 2, so the scores look low.

So shots are taken about as quickly as in basketball, far faster than soccer or football.  The game time is 20% less than basketball.   Pauses in play are MUCH shorter than in basketball or football.  Turnovers are maybe twice as frequent than basketball.  In today's game, Stanford hit 59% of its shots (very high) while USC hit 39% (a good percentage), so scoring efficiency is roughly equivalent to basketball.

The hardest thing for most people to understand is the officiating.  Heck, I played water polo (a half-century ago) and I can not follow the calls.  Away from the goal, you're allowed to touch an opponent if he is touching the ball, but if he drops it, you will be called for an ordinary foul since you're touching him and he no longer has the ball.  For an ordinary foul, the offensive player must be left alone for a free pass (outside the 5 meter line, he can take a shot). 

This changes close to the goal.  When a player in front of the goal doesn't have the ball, there is obvious grabbing and shoving, above and below the water.  But if the player gets the ball, then almost any kind of contact results in an ejection.  (If a player is ejected 3 times, he's out of the game permanently.)

The offense can't take the ball under the water. So if the defense can push the ball under, then they get possession.

Shots that are blocked by someone in the field and then go out of bounds result in the defense getting the ball.   But, if the goalie deflects the ball and it goes out of bounds, the offense gets the ball.

An offensive player can't be closer to the goal than the 2 meter line, unless he has the ball or the ball is closer to the end line. In recent years, they've changed that so there is an area toward each sideline where that doesn't apply.  The offense will often keep a player in that area, close to the end line. When he gets the ball, other offensive players (without the ball) can get very close to the goalie