How Michigan’s defense stifled Michigan State on the last possession

Michigan had only an average defensive game against Michigan State, as they allowed 1.03 points per possession, but they came up big in crunch time on the last possession. They played excellent team defense, blocking one shot and forcing a tough leaner by Draymond Green to end to the game. Let’s look at the final possession and what went well for the defense.

Based on points per possession, Michigan had an average defensive game but they had several possessions where they were superb on defense. One of those was the opening possessions, as seen below. Watch how the on ball defenders move their feet to stay in front of their man, while the rest of the defense rotates relentlessly off the ball. John Beilein has historically had strong defenses and you can see why below.

Now let’s move on to the final possession. We will see some of the same characteristics of the above play, allowing the defense to be successful. The play gets going with the post entry to Green. Michigan uses Zack Novak to double on Green, allowing Austin Thornton to roam free on the perimeter. Michigan choose to take the ball out of the dangerous Green’s hands, neglecting Thornton.

Green makes a nice skip pass to the opposite wing, but Stu Douglass closes out nicely and doesn’t allow a jump shot. The ball then gets entered back into the post, this time on the opposite side to Derrick Nix.

Digital Chalkboard: Ohio beats the halftime buzzer

Ohio ran a nice set from a baseline out of bounds set with one second left on the clock before halftime. It was not perfectly executed but it was effective in freeing up Nick Kellog for a three point shot just before the haltime buzzer.

The play begins with TyQuane Goard (#32) cutting toward the corner, as he pretends that he is the first option for the set. As he comes around a screen by Kellog, he circles back around to set a screen for Kellog, who is the actual option for the set.

Pittsburgh allows a critical offensive rebound late against Marquette

Coming into the season, few would have believed that Pittsburgh would start the Big East season 0-5, but that is where they stand today. They looked like they would get their first Big East win today against Marquette but were outscored by ten in the second half by Marquette to lose yet again. The game came down to a Marquette sideline out of bounds play with 23 seconds left and five seconds left on the shot clock. After a missed shot by Jae Crowder, Davonte Gardner came up with a huge offensive rebound to seal the game for the Golden Eagles.

Coming out of a timeout, Marquette runs a set to get Jae Crowder a three point shot in the corner. Even though there are five seconds left on the shot clock, Crowder puts up a tough shot as he catches and shoots as he is turning after making the catch and he misses the shot.

Nasir Robinson has defensive responsibilities for Gardner but he is shaded toward Crowder as Crowder comes off the screen to the corner. Initially, it looks like Gardner is going to have a free run to the rim to grab any offensive rebound. Gardner is the 15th best offensive rebounder in the nation, as his offensive rebound rate is 16.1%.

Digital Chalkboard: Wake Forest Inbounds Play

Last season, in Jeff Bzdelik’s first season as coach of Wake Forest, there was not much positive to say about the offense. They sputtered to 97.6 offensive efficiency and rarely looked fluid as a team offense. This season, they are showing some nice signs of improvement and have raised their efficiency to one point per possession so far this season. They still have a long way to go but there have been more nice things to say about the offensive side of the ball this season.

This baseline out of bounds play midway through the second half against Maryland demonstrates the increased ability to execute on the offensive end by the Deacs. This is a nicely designed play that the three primary players run well to get an open three point shot for Chase Fischer.

Ty Walker sets the screen for Fischer and starts by cutting to the corner to act like he is the intended target on the inbounds pass. This forces Ashton Pankey to overcommit to deny the pass, taking him out of position once Walker turns to set the screen for Fischer. Travis McKie makes the first cut, coming from the left elbow all the way around the perimeter who will then be followed by Fischer using the screen from Walker.

Two late defensive mistakes by Jared Sullinger hurt Ohio State

I have harped on the poor defense by Jared Sullinger several times and it showed again down the stretch last night, as he made two mistakes that led to point by Brandon Paul to either give Illinois the lead or help them extend it late in the game. While one of the mistakes was not entirely his fault, the second one definitely was and it hurt Ohio State in their ability to close out a win.

The first play to illustrate is a Brandon Paul three point shot that came with 2:02 left and give Illinois the lead for good. Brandon Paul receives a backscreen at the elbow then runs baseline for a second screen from Meyers Leonard. Sam Thompson got caught in the backscreen, so he is several steps behind as Paul runs baseline.

Three point defense the key to Georgia State’s success

Georgia State is one of the early surprises so far this season, as Ron Hunter is leading a team that has reeled off 11 straight wins, including three in the Colonial Athletic Association after dropping the first three games of the season. They are doing it with defense, as they have a 87.1  overall defensive efficiency, 11th in the country, and a 67.6 efficiency in the country, putting them at the top of the conference.

They play mainly zone defense and they show several different looks, including a 1-2-2 zone defense and a 2-3 zone, among other variations. One of the main reasons their defense has been so strong and a key to their current winning streak is their three point defense, as opponents are shooting only 30.9% against them. In their three opening losses, all three teams shot the ball above their current average from beyond the arc. In the 11 games since then, only three teams have shot better than their average from behind the three point line.

While some teams put their guards at the foul line and sit back in their zone defense, Georgia State extends the zone and forces the offense to initiate their sets from several feet beyond the three point line. With the guards pressuring the ball at the top of the key, the rest of the defenders often match up out of the zone and pack the paint.

Look at the guards pressuring the ball out past the three point line. This makes it difficult for the offense to get the ball to the weak spots in the zone, such as the high post or short corner and forces the wing players to move higher up the floor to create passing lanes for the ball handler.

Michigan State has success against the pick and roll defense of Wisconsin

While Michigan State couldn’t join Iowa and become the second team to crack 1 point per possession against Wisconsin, they did manage to escape with a win in Madison in a game that featured an exciting ending, to say the least. Few teams have had prolonged success against the defense of the Badgers this year but Michigan State managed to find some in the pick and roll game.

They did not run ball screens much during the first half but it became a staple of the offense later in the game and it led to several positive possessions for the Spartans. Let’s look at how they exploited the defense of the Badgers.

Wisconsin chose not to hedge at all on these screens and straight switched on many of the pick and rolls. Their goal was to keep Michigan State’s guards, specifically Keith Appling, out of the lane. This didn’t work for several reasons, one being that Appling could blow by the big men of Wisconsin when he wanted to get to the rim and that he was knocking down jump shots when presented with that option.

Appling made great decisions coming off the pick and roll in this game, wisely choosing when he could take it to the rim and when the defense gave him room to pull up. First, let’s look at his ability to take the defense off the dribble. Look at how closely the defense is playing him in the first frame, off the pick and roll switch. There is little more than an arm’s length between Appling and the defender and Appling recognizes he can take him to the rim.

Digital Chalkboard: Northwestern 3 point set

After coaching at Princeton for nearly 20 years in both an assistant and the head coach, Bill Carmody installed a Princeton offense at Northwestern after taking the job in 2000. This shapes up to be his best year yet at the school, as he attempts to lead the Wildcats to their first NCAA appearance. The offense is humming, averaging over 1.1 points per possession, good for 24th in the nation (prior to the Penn State game). The offense is built around a passing big man at the high post, with cuts off the ball and plenty of three point shots. This set encompasses all three of those aspects of the offense for a successful possession.

After resetting the play, Northwestern enters the ball into Luka Mirkovic at the high post as Dave Sobolewski makes the pass. After making the entry pass to the high post, the passer usually cuts through the lane toward the opposite block before clearing out to the weak side corner. Sobolewski feigns this cut, which causes his defender to sag off him to take away a pass from Mirkovic.

However, instead of finishing his cut, Sobolewski suspends his cut and sets a screen for Drew Crawford, who will use this screen to curl to the top of the key.

A look at the guard oriented offense of Murray State

The Murray State Racers are here to stay and will continue to be in the national spotlight as long as they stay undefeated. While their overall strength of schedule is not very strong, they do have a good win over Memphis to accompany some solid victories over Southern Mississippi and Dayton, proving that they are for real. Their offense is the bread and butter to their success, as they have an adjusted efficiency of 109.8, 39th in the nation. They have had only one game below one point per possession, their win against UAB where they only managed 0.95 PPP.

The offense is dominated by guard penetration, led by Isaiah Canaan, who has an offensive rating of 125.5. Murray State runs few sets but relies on pick and rolls and dribble penetration to open up the floor. They space the floor with shooters who shoot 43.5% from beyond the arc (6th in the country). This allows their guards to find lanes for their dribble drives, which helps them shoot 51% on two point shots.

Here is a shot from a drive by Zay Jackson (the second clip in the video below). You can see one of the defenders scrambling out to Canaan, a dangerous three point shooter. With no help, Jackson is able to slice through the lane to the rim. Murray State also keeps a forward on the block, who opens up to the middle of the floor when his teammate drives to be available for the dump off pass.

Digital Chalkboard: BYU Opening Possession

BYU got beat down by St. Mary’s in their opening WCC game but it was BYU who threw the first jab by scoring easily on the first possession. St. Mary’s is an undersized team and BYU took advantage of this by isolating Noah Hartsock in the post against Rob Jones. Let’s breakdown how it got to that point.

After controlling the opening tip, Matt Carlino enters the ball to Brandon Davies at the high post. Brock Zylstra then curls from the right wing to receive the handoff from Davies as Carlino clears out to the left wing. Meanwhile, Hartsock begins walking Jones down to the block,where he will seal him after Zylsta receives the handoff.