I did a google searh on How to beat Syracuse's Zone and a lot of results showed up:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=how+to+beat+syracuse's+zone&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

This video shows pretty clearly how our bigs can set screens on the top defenders with our bigs to create good three point shots for Crabbe, Cobbs, Kreklow and Wallace:

http://www.ihoops.com/training-room/coaches/How-Tom-Izzo-Beats-the-Best-Zone-Defenses.htm

Montana wasn't doing this. They tried to penetrate and pass the ball inside a lot and failed miserably because the Syracuse zone is best at controlling the paint. They shot of ton of threes, but they were contested because they didn't set screens out top to get guys open.

Hopefully Monty will prepare the team well and our shooters will have good games shooting from three.

Not sure we are good enough from three. The Zone can also be weak against properly set up elbow jumpers. Hope Kravish is a little more on than he was last night.

R90;842103161 said:

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I did a google searh on How to beat Syracuse's Zone and a lot of results showed up:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=how+to+beat+syracuse's+zone&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

This video shows pretty clearly how our bigs can set screens on the top defenders with our bigs to create good three point shots for Crabbe, Cobbs, Kreklow and Wallace:

http://www.ihoops.com/training-room/coaches/How-Tom-Izzo-Beats-the-Best-Zone-Defenses.htm

Montana wasn't doing this. They tried to penetrate and pass the ball inside a lot and failed miserably because the Syracuse zone is best at controlling the paint. They shot of ton of threes, but they were contested because they didn't set screens out top to get guys open.

Hopefully Monty will prepare the team well and our shooters will have good games shooting from three.

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Great video. I also think Montana tried to defeat it from the post at the free throw line - which you simply can't do because Cuse is SO LOOOOONNNNNNGGGG that they are able to get their hands in the way of the kicks out passes from that post.

The problem (sad bear) is that we haven't shown a lot of goodness in being able to find a third outside threat. So if I am scheming the bears it is telling my guy who has AC NOT to give him much/any room. If Cobbs has to initiate the thing Izzo was running it will be hard for him to find room.

So.....

It will make us crazy but I wouldn't be surprised to see Brandon running the point. MAYBE (big maybe) Tyron as well (the maybe is that he is a Frosh in a huge game and that is a ton of pressure) but Monty will want to find a way to let Cobbs operate without the ball so he is able to shoot from outside at the elbow.

Another good link: http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/plays/pitt.html

Personnel

Player 1 should be a good penetrator with the ability to hit the mid-range jump shot (Cobbs). Player 5 should be able to set a good screen (Solomon, Thurman, Kravish). Player 4 should be able to score underneath the basket (Kravish) and Player 3 should be a good perimeter shooter (Crabbe).

'Cuse is so tough against teams that have not seen this effective zone. Big East teams at least get to see it several times per season, and can practice against it. The Izzo plays appear to require a lot more precision than possibly be put in
during the short practice time before Saturday. I hope the Bears are back in Haas all day today working on it.

Another good link.

I was somewhat surprised to hear that we were staying in San Jose. Guess if it was ME I would have bused em back to Berkeley, let them sleep in their own beds, and then had them do a good walk through at Haas - especially since Saturday is a 6 p.m. tip and you could have EASILY had the kids get to the bus for the drive around 11 a.m. to get down to HP.

But hey, maybe just me, I never sleep well in hotels ;-)

GBMARIN;842103170 said:

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'Cuse is so tough against teams that have not seen this effective zone. Big East teams at least get to see it several times per season, and can practice against it. The Izzo plays appear to require a lot more precision than possibly be put in
during the short practice time before Saturday. I hope the Bears are back in Haas all day today working on it.

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no RSF so I can practice with them!

socaltownie;842103171 said:

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Another good link.

I was somewhat surprised to hear that we were staying in San Jose. Guess if it was ME I would have bused em back to Berkeley, let them sleep in their own beds, and then had them do a good walk through at Haas - especially since Saturday is a 6 p.m. tip and you could have EASILY had the kids get to the bus for the drive around 11 a.m. to get down to HP.

But hey, maybe just me, I never sleep well in hotels ;-)

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Maybe it is simply your penchant to swipe at Monty.

Go Bears!

Anyone see the Syracuse/Louisville game last weekend? The Card put on a clinic on how to beat the zone. Just completely destroyed it in the second half!!! They put two of their big guys on the elbows and the point guard up top. He dumped it to one of the bigs who either shot an open shot, drove, or hit a back door cut. It looked way too easy!!!!

south bender;842103174 said:

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Maybe it is simply your penchant to swipe at Monty.

Go Bears!

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Go to hell Southbend. Would _YOU_ have stayed in San Jose?

89Bear;842103176 said:

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Anyone see the Syracuse/Louisville game last weekend? The Card put on a clinic on how to beat the zone. Just completely destroyed it in the second half!!! They put two of their big guys on the elbows and the point guard up top. He dumped it to one of the bigs who either shot an open shot, drove, or hit a back door cut. It looked way too easy!!!!

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Do you think David could make those drives? I think Solo could but I am not sure about the other side.

socaltownie;842103179 said:

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Do you think David could make those drives? I think Solo could but I am not sure about the other side.

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Not too sure about that. He certainly has the shooting and passing ability. Can't remember too many aggressive drives to the hoop by him.

socaltownie;842103177 said:

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Go to hell Southbend. Would _YOU_ have stayed in San Jose?

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I'm with you townie. You are given every advantage by being close to home.
Unless there is a rule against it, why wouldn't you use every possible advantage going up against a team and a scheme that by all rights you should have no chance against?

socaltownie;842103177 said:

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Go to hell Southbend. Would _YOU_ have stayed in San Jose?

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Hey they are at the Fairmont- nice hotel, room service-better than the average dorm room.

GBMARIN;842103182 said:

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I'm with you townie. You are given every advantage by being close to home.
Unless there is a rule against it, why wouldn't you use every possible advantage going up against a team and a scheme that by all rights you should have no chance against?

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There might be an NCAA rule - something like you can't return to practice on your home court (or something like that). Or maybe monty worked out something to get court access someplace down in the SouthBay.

I would say one thing - there has been more zone this year in the conference than in some years. OSU played a bunch and ditto the Ruins (I can't remember how much in our game but I think they have used it for about 30%+ of their minutes this year). And we probably have PRACTICED how to use it defensively. Montana simply looked like they never see anything like it in the Big Sky.

I don't think we're consistent enough on a 3 point shot to break the zone from that range. Kravish isn't nearly athletic/big enough to play inside against their talent either and I expect him to set up outside the paint. Thurman got all his points because his man would always leave to help against Cobbs or Crabbe.

I'm sure Crabbe will be very active but he'll have to run himself further away from the basket to get some space. I think we'll need really crisp, efficient passing to break them down since we don't have enough players that can move and penetrate with the ball. Each player will need to understand where the D is, how its supposed to rotate and which player should be open and not underestimate Syracuse length/speed. We'll need a lot of movement on offense and hope they have some lapses.

You could see Montana hesitating in swinging the ball which is all Syracuse needed to get back in position. With home court and a good outside shot, who knows. I'd just hate to rely on 18-20 ft jumpers to try to beat them.

GB54;842103183 said:

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Hey they are at the Fairmont- nice hotel, room service-better than the average dorm room.

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I get that. Couldn't be at a better hotel but it is still a hotel - not your own bed. Flip side - guess their family members are in SJ if they traveled up to see em so that is the benefit. Plus they get to be "around the tournament". But we need a good solid walk through today to really work this out and we would be sharing HP Pavillion time with four other teams.

I am sure there are media responsibilities that require staying. Plus it gives the kids a chance to revel in the atmosphere and I am sure practices are scheduled at HP

socaltownie;842103177 said:

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Go to hell Southbend. Would _YOU_ have stayed in San Jose?

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There is value in the team being together on the road.

Go Bears!

socaltownie;842103184 said:

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There might be an NCAA rule - something like you can't return to practice on your home court (or something like that). Or maybe monty worked out something to get court access someplace down in the SouthBay.

I would say one thing - there has been more zone this year in the conference than in some years. OSU played a bunch and ditto the Ruins (I can't remember how much in our game but I think they have used it for about 30%+ of their minutes this year). And we probably have PRACTICED how to use it defensively. Montana simply looked like they never see anything like it in the Big Sky.

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incorrect guesses

monty said he is keeping the team in san jose (at the fairmont) in order to let them enjoy the atmosphere around march madness

Shocky1;842103198 said:

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incorrect guesses

monty said he is keeping the team in san jose (at the fairmont) in order to let them enjoy the atmosphere around march madness

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Is there much this year? The opening rounds (Sacto, San Diego X2) that I have been to in the past were "meh" when it came to that but it has admittedly been a number of years.

socaltownie;842103205 said:

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Is there much this year? The opening rounds (Sacto, San Diego X2) that I have been to in the past were "meh" when it came to that but it has admittedly been a number of years.

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monty wants our 18-20 year old guys to enjoy march madness, meet some of the other team's players, take in a few games and practice at hp's court (gonna need ricky as the 3rd zone buster knocking down 3 pters on sat)

staying at the fairmont in sj may not be a big deal to some of us but to college students living in dorms & apts it is pretty cool to be staying in a lux hotel

go beers

socaltownie;842103184 said:

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There might be an NCAA rule - something like you can't return to practice on your home court (or something like that). Or maybe monty worked out something to get court access someplace down in the SouthBay.

I would say one thing - there has been more zone this year in the conference than in some years. OSU played a bunch and ditto the Ruins (I can't remember how much in our game but I think they have used it for about 30%+ of their minutes this year). And we probably have PRACTICED how to use it defensively. Montana simply looked like they never see anything like it in the Big Sky.

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Did OSU do a 2-3? I know they like the 131. We do a 122 (I hope we continue to stick with that) so I'm not sure how much time we've spent v. a 2-3. Regardless, Cuse might have 5 NBA guys, long and athletic, and we really struggled against it when we played them last time. This time around, I like the dribble penetration that Cobbs, Wallace and Crabbe can bring and Kravish having the knack for getting the 12-15 ft. jumper.

Just watching that video, its easy to see why Izzo always does well in the tournament. If Izzo was coaching UNLV, they beat us handily. The UNLV coach was ridiculously overmatched by Monty yesterday.

ducky23;842103239 said:

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Just watching that video, its easy to see why Izzo always does well in the tournament. If Izzo was coaching UNLV, they beat us handily. The UNLV coach was ridiculously overmatched by Monty yesterday.

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If Monty were coaching UNLV, "they beat us handily," that is, if he had had that group from the beginning of the year and UNLV's coach had had our guys.

Go Bears!

ducky23;842103239 said:

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Just watching that video, its easy to see why Izzo always does well in the tournament. If Izzo was coaching UNLV, they beat us handily. The UNLV coach was ridiculously overmatched by Monty yesterday.

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To be "fair" Rice doesn't have a point guard and they have struggled this year against teams that could force UNLV to play in the half court.

Rice was pretty awful. He'd probably be the worst coach in the pac-12. His offense was ben braun-esque, but even worse, he continually allowed crabbe to get into the paint, something most pac-12 coaches were able to prevent most of the year. That was the difference in the game. as we've all seen, you give crabbe room to operate, Cal can be decent offensively.

I don't think we're going to have such a coaching mismatch against Syracuse. But its somewhat do-able. We have to make the game as ugly as possible. Slow slow slow down the game. NO TURNOVERS. If you can somehow limit cuse's second chance points and points in transition and make them a half court team, they are beatable. In the half court (and especially against our zone) they will be impatient and take bad shots. Whether that's going to be enough to make up for the talent disparity, I don't know.

Wallace doesn't have a 3-point shot. If he starts attempting 3's, we're in deep trouble.

ducky23;842103239 said:

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Just watching that video, its easy to see why Izzo always does well in the tournament. If Izzo was coaching UNLV, they beat us handily. The UNLV coach was ridiculously overmatched by Monty yesterday.

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Maybe, but a lot of it could be the players being too dense and unfocused. Rice may have to keep things simple for them.

Bennett has an NBA body, can dribble and run the floor, shoots well from outside, has some nice post moves, AND makes bad decisions on both ends of the floor.

It was interesting to listen to the articulate Cal players break down what they were doing defensively in the post-game press conference and then contrast it with the clueless responses of the UNLV players who had no idea what hit them.

Golden One;842103264 said:

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Wallace doesn't have a 3-point shot. If he starts attempting 3's, we're in deep trouble.

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I love Ty. He is an extraordinary talent, particularly mature for a freshman. He does so many things well, offensively and defensively.

However, I am hoping he has some good instruction and takes about 5000 shots a day in the off season.

The sky is the limit, if he can become a competent to good shooter.

Right now his long range attempts are essentially turnovers.

Go Bears!

ducky23;842103262 said:

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Rice was pretty awful. He'd probably be the worst coach in the pac-12. His offense was ben braun-esque, but even worse, he continually allowed crabbe to get into the paint, something most pac-12 coaches were able to prevent most of the year. That was the difference in the game. as we've all seen, you give crabbe room to operate, Cal can be decent offensively.

I don't think we're going to have such a coaching mismatch against Syracuse. But its somewhat do-able. We have to make the game as ugly as possible. Slow slow slow down the game. NO TURNOVERS. If you can somehow limit cuse's second chance points and points in transition and make them a half court team, they are beatable. In the half court (and especially against our zone) they will be impatient and take bad shots. Whether that's going to be enough to make up for the talent disparity, I don't know.

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Except......I would think we are FAR better off if we can score against the Cuse in transition/before the zone sets up. Not Westhead fast but I can see it advantagous to try to do that rather than get into the trouble Montana did when trying to attack a zone that has a huge amount of length at the top.

lets face it. House money and would be great to win but +7.5 seems low given our poor outside shooting all year.

Is Jerome in town? Sadly I don't think we can sneak him into the line up but that would force them to come out ;-)

socaltownie;842103268 said:

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Except......I would think we are FAR better off if we can score against the Cuse in transition/before the zone sets up. Not Westhead fast but I can see it advantagous to try to do that rather than get into the trouble Montana did when trying to attack a zone that has a huge amount of length at the top.

lets face it. House money and would be great to win but +7.5 seems low given our poor outside shooting all year.

Is Jerome in town? Sadly I don't think we can sneak him into the line up but that would force them to come out ;-)

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that's a good point. we should definitely be looking for early offense, but if its not there, we should back it out and take the time to look for a good shot. Man, the one half I saw syracuse play (before I left) montana had so many fast break opportunities and each and every time they got blocked from behind. not saying that's going to happen with Cal (since Montana is the absolute worst 13 seed I've ever seen) but cuse seems to relish blocking opponents' shots in transition (and they are darn good at it).

instead of taking it to the basket on early offense, i'd love to see crabbe head toward the 3 point line and get clean looks from 3 in transition.

I'm hoping the Syracuse players go out and party hard tonight. They're in Cali, it's Fri night, the weather is nice, and they just had a huge win. That's how we'll beat their zone.

ducky23;842103280 said:

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that's a good point. we should definitely be looking for early offense, but if its not there, we should back it out and take the time to look for a good shot. Man, the one half I saw syracuse play (before I left) montana had so many fast break opportunities and each and every time they got blocked from behind. not saying that's going to happen with Cal (since Montana is the absolute worst 13 seed I've ever seen) but cuse seems to relish blocking opponents' shots in transition (and they are darn good at it).

instead of taking it to the basket on early offense, i'd love to see crabbe head toward the 3 point line and get clean looks from 3 in transition.

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Agreed. I wouldn't take it to the rack (or rather I would take it inside but be looking to kick) against Cuse and that means Crabbe/Ricky MUST knock down spot up threes in the transition offense.

R90;842103265 said:

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Maybe, but a lot of it could be the players being too dense and unfocused. Rice may have to keep things simple for them.

Bennett has an NBA body, can dribble and run the floor, shoots well from outside, has some nice post moves, AND makes bad decisions on both ends of the floor.

It was interesting to listen to the articulate Cal players break down what they were doing defensively in the post-game press conference and then contrast it with the clueless responses of the UNLV players who had no idea what hit them.

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As happy as I was for my Bears and a great day of hoops in San Jose with my son, I was sad for my childhood hoops friend and rival Dave when he walked off the court. He's quality guy and a student of the game and I think has good hoops mind. I thought he took a good TO after getting down 7-0 and his guys didn't give up at the end when it looked bleak. He's had a lot of success in coaching at a pretty young age, and I will be rooting for him to make a tourney run next year.