I didn’t watch the OSU-Loyola game, but I’m going to make a guess: Oregon State zoned them on defense? A zone would have taken away everything they were doing to us and made them make plays on the perimeter, which I’m not convinced they could do.
People who watched the game, how far off am I?
They switched on and off. Loyola had wide open looks from three and couldn’t convert. They’ve been streaky all year. OSU’s length and bounce bothered Krutwig more than we could. OSU gave up a ton of open threes and their gamble paid off.
I would have liked to have seen us try some zone here and there but not really sure it would have made a big difference with Kofi in the lineup. This lineup is simply too traditional. We don’t have lengthy versatile athletic wings to disrupt passing lanes and close out shooters in a zone look. If we didn’t need Kofi so bad for offense I think there would have been more defensive options we could have used.
The key to beating the zone is being patient and getting the ball to the free throw line to a good passer. Problem with that is Krutwig is really good from there and that’s exactly how they run their offense.
A zone wouldn’t have really helped Kofi at all, who was already kind of playing his own matchup zone on Krut after the first few minutes. It might have helped with some of the cuts they made that Krut fed but would have also left them open at the arc.
My primary concern was lack of adjustment on offense. It was clear by the 10 min mark of second half Kofi was gassed and he’s out 23 feet from the basket setting half assed screens while Ayo was getting iced. Eventually they went to a more iso look and got some good looks but they didn’t fall.
Underwood was thoroughly outcoached and Loyola was a really bad matchup for us. Trent missed several shots he almost always makes. Several other guys missed point blank shots.
I have to remind myself that three of our best five players are underclassmen and one of them has only been playing basketball for five years. First tourney appearance for all the players. Living in a bubble environment for over a week before the tourney even got started. Just got done playing 2.5 months of B1G opponents who don’t have Loyola’s style of play, maturity and discipline. Not making excuses but it’s not hard to see how such a team would be ripe for upset.
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