Why You Should Mirror McNeese's Matchup Zone Magic!
The biggest upset in this year’s Men’s NCAA Tournament was McNeese State’s victory over Clemson.
McNeese State outscored Clemson 31-13 in the first half. At one point, Clemson had 1 assist and 11 turnovers!
During a timeout, McNeese State (now NC State) coach Will Wade was interviewed and asked how they were defending Clemson so effectively.
He attributed their success to their matchup zone. He said (and the stats back it up) that Clemson was confused and was taking the shots the McNeese wanted, not the shots Clemson wanted.
Wade’s comments touch on some of the biggest benefits of Don Kelbick’s Matchup Zone Defense. Just like the Cowboys, you can use the matchup zone to flip the script on your opponents.
3 Reasons The Matchup Is A Nightmare For Opponents!
- It dictates where the ball goes
- It’s the “motion offense” of defenses
- It is the shot clock’s best friend
Many zones are reactionary. In other words, they respond to what the offense does and try to prevent scores.
Not the matchup. As Coach Keblick says, the matchup is about dictating. It puts your opponent on their heels. Clemson was a huge team. And yet, McNeese was able to keep them from scoring inside by playing the matchup.
Instead of being able to run their best actions, Clemson was forced to play outside their comfort zone, leading to bad decisions and bad shots.
Why do coaches like motion offense? Because it’s unpredictable. The defense can’t settle in and get used to a pattern.
Guess what? The matchup zone is exactly that, only on defense. No 2 possessions are alike. Whereas most zone rotations become formulaic, the matchup never does.
Why? Because it’s a conceptual defense. The rotations are based on reads more than hard and fast rules.
As a result, the offense doesn’t see the same thing twice, meaning they have to start over from square 1 on every possession.
What does that lead to? Confusion!
The shot clock makes the matchup zone even more effective. Why? Because the confusion the matchup causes slows down the offense.
This means teams take longer to get into their offensive actions, leaving less time to score.
This leads to shots taken up against the shot clock, which are often difficult, low-percentage looks.
A Defense That’s The Best Of Both Worlds
The matchup zone takes what’s best about man and combines it with what’s best about zone.
As in man to man, every player has a player they are responsible for defending. There is role clarity. You are able to dictate where the ball goes.
As in zone, you get to choose where your players are positioned. This allows you to keep favorable matchups and put your players in ideal positions to defend and rebound.
In those ways, you are able to maximize your defensive abilities. If you’re looking for a defense that will get you some big wins, just like it did for McNeese, check out Don Kelbick’s Matchup Zone Defense.
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