Here’s why Kansas basketball was ‘awful against the zone’ when facing UCF
At one point, the Kansas men’s basketball team completely controlled the game.
The No. 3 Jayhawks led by as many as 16 and for nearly 22 minutes of game time against UCF.
Then, slowly, the Knights mounted a comeback.
UCF ultimately upset Kansas, winning 65-60 on Wednesday at Addition Financial Center. A big reason why?
The Knights switched between several defensive coverages, and those switches caused the KU players problems. Namely, UCF’s zone left the Jayhawks out of sorts.
“They went soft press, back to zone and then man-to-man,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “We didn’t do a good job at all. … We didn’t do a good job of penetrating the zone or getting the ball into the high post. When we did, we got some good looks — we didn’t make them, but we got some good looks.
“We were awful against the zone. And then after it got kind of discombobulated and we couldn’t run plays to score. We struggled for the rest of the night.”
At times, the zone sped the Jayhawks up and led to turnovers. At other points, it forced indecisiveness, which had the same result. The Jayhawks committed 18 turnovers that the Knights turned into 18 points.
Kansas also committed 18 turnovers in a two-point win over TCU on Saturday. In this instance, though, Self admitted the Jayhawks were slightly surprised by UCF’s zone usage.
“They haven’t played that much zone just based on our scouting reports and that stuff,” Self said. “I mean, they did a good job. Those are the things that we obviously labored with.”
The film reflected that statement.
Midway through the second half, UCF set up in a 2-3 zone, with three players perched down low and two guards up top.
KU forward KJ Adams tried to set a screen to open a shot in the left corner. The pass by Dajuan Harris was somewhat late and off target, as Johnny Furphy had to reach down for it. UCF’s CJ Walker quickly fought through the Adams screen and blocked Furphy’s 3-point attempt.
Shortly before that, the Knights showcased how their ability to switch between defenses on the fly could force KU turnovers.
Initially playing zone, UCF double-teamed Dickinson, who found himself in no-man’s land with nowhere to throw the ball to.
Adams was on the right side of the paint, but his defender zipped in to the steal the ball, leading to UCF’s fast break dunk.
It was one of KU’s 18 turnovers — a total Self wasn’t pleased with.
“We’ve got to take care of the ball more,” Self said. “We did some things that I think good teams shouldn’t do, especially playing away from home in a hostile environment.”
Ultimately, KU will be tested by a variety of defenses as it continues on in Big 12 play. UCF caused the Jayhawks issues by switching defenses, and other teams may try to challenge the Jayhawks in the same way.
“They changed the pace and ran some different looks at us,” said KU guard Kevin McCullar. “They did a good job of getting some pressure. They ran some zone as well. It’s something to learn from — get in the film room and turn the page.”
This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 12:23 AM with the headline "Here’s why Kansas basketball was ‘awful against the zone’ when facing UCF."
