Was Kansas not playing zone....

[elksnort]

most of the game? I realize they went to a box and one later in the game, but I have heared people say that Kansas was playing man to man most of the game.

Please help me out. It appeared to me that Kansas was playing a 2-3 or some variation most of the game. I do know that they doubled up on Rose when he ventured near the key.

thanks in advance

[elksnort]

Will one of you knowledgeable basketball guys answer my question?

Was Kansas not in zone most of the game or not? I looked like zone, not man to man.

[31to6]

It looked like they were switching between pure man and a matchup zone depending on personnel with Rush on CDR, their stocky guard on Rose, etc.

The box and one almost lost them the game, btw.

[elksnort]

Yeah, why did Self switch to it?

[31to6]

He chose his offense to neutralize the three Memphis big men, especially Dorsey. By charging the paint on offense he guaranteed foul trouble amplifying his inside depth.

Defensively, he played man and matchup to neutralize CDR *and* Rose. I think at halftime he noticed that Rose had not scored meaningfully in the first half while CDR was going off on them. So he gambled that he could switch to a box-and-one on CDR and see if Rose lit up or continued to flounder. If he neutralizes CDR and Rose doesn't step up, the game becomes a blowout. But Rose did step up and he didn't notice it quick enough. Memphis' run started when the box-and-one went in and it ended when they went back to the defense that had frustrated Memphis all the first half.

If it ain't broke.....

[elksnort]

Thanks for a meaningful discussion that is so often missing from this board (or any for that matter).

I guess my eyes were fooling me. My wife (who played basketball all her childhood to HS) and I could have sworn that Kansas was in a basic 2 1 2 or 2-3 zone most of the game. Maybe it was a sagging man?

[The Boar War]

most of the game? I realize they went to a box and one later in the game, but I have heared people say that Kansas was playing man to man most of the game.

Please help me out. It appeared to me that Kansas was playing a 2-3 or some variation most of the game. I do know that they doubled up on Rose when he ventured near the key.

thanks in advance

They played a mixture of 2-3, 1-2-2, box and one (at the end of the second half), and a sagging man defense.  Which is pretty impressive if you think about it.  In my mind Bill Self is a good coach because he knew that his defenders were not as quick as Rose and Anderson.  Therefore he changed what would be a normal man to man to a sagging man or pack line defense (which is perfect for Memphis' dribble drive offense).  The key to this defense is that it allows less athletic defenders to nip the dribble in the bud and clog up the passing lane.

http://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasketballPackLineDefense.html

Memphis Dribble Drive Offense

http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/index.php?topic=208387.0

[kuhog]

Kansas played a sagging man-to-man defense for 2/3 of the game. They went to the box-&-one midway through the second half, which nearly cost them the game.

I don't know what Self was thinking when he switched from man-to-man. If you got the quickest defense on the floor, keep using it.

If it's not broke, don't fix it.

[cobra kai]

Kansas played a sagging man-to-man defense for 2/3 of the game. They went to the box-&-one midway through the second half, which nearly cost them the game.

I don't know what Self was thinking when he switched from man-to-man. If you got the quickest defense on the floor, keep using it.

If it's not broke, don't fix it.

Agreed.  Their man defense was causing Memphis problems all game long - I couldn't believe he switched to the box and one late in the game.  It took all the pressure off Memphis' guards and allowed Rose to get back in it.

[RedSatinHog]

Thanks for a meaningful discussion that is so often missing from this board (or any for that matter).

I guess my eyes were fooling me. My wife (who played basketball all her childhood to HS) and I could have sworn that Kansas was in a basic 2 1 2 or 2-3 zone most of the game. Maybe it was a sagging man?

That's what it looked like to me, too, and Memphis was having a difficult time penetrating it, thus the final score in the 60's after 45:00.  That's not a normal outcome for this Memphis team if they run their inside offense as normal.

[cobbs34]

They played absolutely no 2-3 zone.  their box-n-one looked like a 2-3 at times because they had CDR on the baseline.  They played one possession of 1-2-2.  The rest of the time they played a great helpside man, clogging up the lanes.

[31to6]

Okay. Edjumacate me. What is sagging-man?

[The Boar War]

Okay. Edjumacate me. What is sagging-man?

http://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasketballPackLineDefense.html

The main purpose of a sagging man to man defense is to protect the paint, and prevent the dish or dunk/lay up that made Rose such a good player and the dribble drive offense so effective.

Because Memphis was arguably faster Kansas chose to have their defenders back off and "sag" inside what's called the "pack line". The pack line is an imaginary line two feet inside the 3-point line. Usually there are four defenders inside the line and one pressuring the point guard. This allows the pass on the perimeter, but closes down the gaps.

[31to6]

Thank you!

[hawgsav1]

Kansas played a sagging man-to-man defense for 2/3 of the game. They went to the box-&-one midway through the second half, which nearly cost them the game.

I don't know what Self was thinking when he switched from man-to-man. If you got the quickest defense on the floor, keep using it.

If it's not broke, don't fix it.

I think the box and one is a bit ineffective against Memphis' style of play it seems.  Memphis seems to like to isolate a player and try to get a one on one matchup so the Memphis player can take his defender off the dribble and shoot or score or take it to the rim.  A box and one can sometimes amplify this effect it seems.