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Bradley was able to overcome a 17 point deficit and beat Northern Iowa here last Sunday. And last night Wichita State was struggling and trailing UNI late in their game at Cedar Falls. But WSU coach Gregg Marshall, who did not plan to zone UNI and felt it was not a good idea to zone a very good shooting team, knew that they had trouble with Bradley's zone defense 3 days earlier. So when assistant coach Chris Jans suggested they go to a zone, he tried it. Almost immediately, Wichita State rallied and took the lead and won the game.
Northern Iowa seems to be a team that would slice up a zone with its array of outside shooters. For whatever reason, the Panthers don’t.
Bradley employed a zone to rally from a 16-point deficit on Sunday and beat UNI 78-67. WSU went to a zone in the second half on Wednesday and it helped the Shockers rally.
“We couldn’t guard them,” Marshall said. “We couldn’t keep them off the foul line. We couldn’t keep them getting to the paint.”
Marshall said assistant coach Chris Jans suggested the zone. Marshall knew UNI struggled against Bradley.
“It’s hard to figure out why, because they’ve got such great shooters,” Marshall said.
Marshall has seven reasons to play zone, one of which is to disrupt a team’s rythmn. The zone, and WSU’s full-court press, did that.
But, just as Bradley did in overcoming a 16-point deficit to beat Northern Iowa on Sunday, the Shockers shifted to a zone defense. Marshall said he was hesitant to make that move, but credited it for helping turn the tide.
“For a while, we couldn’t guard them, couldn’t stop them, couldn’t keep them off the foul line, couldn’t keep them out of the paint, couldn’t keep them from getting open 3s,” he said.
“In the back of my mind, I had heard that they’d struggled a little bit at Bradley against the zone. And it’s hard to figure out why because they’ve got such good shooters. That’s why I was hesitant to do it to begin with. … (But) they certainly seemed to get out of rhythm.”
Northern Iowa seems to be a team that would slice up a zone with its array of outside shooters. For whatever reason, the Panthers don’t.
Bradley employed a zone to rally from a 16-point deficit on Sunday and beat UNI 78-67. WSU went to a zone in the second half on Wednesday and it helped the Shockers rally.
“We couldn’t guard them,” Marshall said. “We couldn’t keep them off the foul line. We couldn’t keep them getting to the paint.”
Marshall said assistant coach Chris Jans suggested the zone. Marshall knew UNI struggled against Bradley.
“It’s hard to figure out why, because they’ve got such great shooters,” Marshall said.
Marshall has seven reasons to play zone, one of which is to disrupt a team’s rythmn. The zone, and WSU’s full-court press, did that.
But, just as Bradley did in overcoming a 16-point deficit to beat Northern Iowa on Sunday, the Shockers shifted to a zone defense. Marshall said he was hesitant to make that move, but credited it for helping turn the tide.
“For a while, we couldn’t guard them, couldn’t stop them, couldn’t keep them off the foul line, couldn’t keep them out of the paint, couldn’t keep them from getting open 3s,” he said.
“In the back of my mind, I had heard that they’d struggled a little bit at Bradley against the zone. And it’s hard to figure out why because they’ve got such good shooters. That’s why I was hesitant to do it to begin with. … (But) they certainly seemed to get out of rhythm.”
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