Zone defense leads to Horns’ fatal funk
AUSTIN — Kansas State was getting gutted Tuesday night. It got so bad coach Bruce
Weber conjured an image of a crossing guard hastily waving schoolchildren across the street to illustrate how little resistance his defense offered in the first half against Texas.
Guards Kerwin Roach II, Matt Coleman and Courtney Ramey kept blowing by defenders and penetrating the paint. Big men Dylan Osetkowski,
Jaxson Hayes and Jericho Sims were grabbing offensive rebounds and wreaking havoc inside.
Texas scored 31 of its 39 firsthalf points in the paint and at the free-throw line. It shot 72 percent on 2-pointers. It had 18th-ranked Kansas State scrambling and Weber searching.
During halftime, Weber decided Kansas State couldn’t stay in front of Texas, not individually. Despite using it just once at length this season, the former Naismith coach of the year instructed his team to switch to a zone-heavy scheme.
Driving lanes dried up. Rolling big men were headed off. And fastbreak opportunities grew scarce as Kansas State (19-5, 9-2 Big 12) hit 12 of its first 15 shots and committed only three turnovers.
Its athletic advantage canceled out by Kansas State’s zone, Texas turned to a steady stream of jumpers. That’s how the Wildcats won 71-64.
Texas (14-11, 6-6) shot 30 percent in the second half. Over the final 15 minutes, it attempted 14 shots: nine 3-pointers, two jumpers, two dunks and one layup. It made two field goals outside the paint.
“I think some of those zone possessions, if we could have them back, just got to be more aggressive,” Texas coach Shaka
Smart said. “They want to keep you in front of them, they want you to shoot a contested 3. But there’s really opportunities to get in the paint and a couple times we did.”
Roach chastised himself after the game. An offensive catalyst in the first half (14 points), he scored just three points in the second and missed all five shots. He finished with six turnovers and zero assists. Solemnity painted Roach’s face as he spoke a hard truth.
“They made us a shooting team, we just didn’t knock down the shots,” Roach said. “We got some good looks, especially myself, and I didn’t hit a 3 today.” Smart hoped sophomore Jase
Febres could provide a shooting spark off the bench, much like he did in the Longhorns’ Jan. 2 win at Manhattan, Kan.
Febres did drill a clutch 3pointer to pull Texas within four with 4:04 remaining. But that was his only make of the night.
Meanwhile, Ramey seethed on the bench. He had played with zeal and poise in the first half, scoring 10 points and grabbing three offensive rebounds.
But the freshman appeared for only 34 seconds over the final six minutes.
“It’s a judgment call,” Smart said. “Courtney’s been great. He’s getting better and better. But Jase has been really big down the stretch of some of those games, that’s why we played him.”
Ramey’s presence, both as a dogged defender and play-making guard, might not have been enough to thwart Kansas State given UT’s team-wide shooting woes.
Weber’s group is in the driver’s seat now, poised to depose Kansas from the Big 12 throne it has sat upon for 14 years straight. And his unexpected and effective usage of a zone provided further proof of the blueprint teams can use to stymie Texas and relegate its biggest offensive advantages — quickness, athleticism, solid size — almost moot.
Texas should be burning to recoup Saturday at home against an Oklahoma State team it flopped against earlier this year.
After that it goes on the road against Oklahoma and Baylor, two teams it has already defeated.
“For our guys, the message is when we come in here on Thursday it’s all about improving on all the things we saw (against Kansas State), all the things we’ve continued to work on,” Smart said. “We’ve got a great opportunity on Saturday.
“The urgency to improve and get better individually and as a team will be a 10 out of 10.”