Practical Defense...

[Fullbacksympathy]

Last night, the team finally looked like the sort of defense it's capable of being, and I think it had everything to do with coaching.  I saw a packed lane, help (for the most part) on pick and rolls, and contested shots. 

 

Contested shots, no matter who the shooter is, are very difficult to make.  When you take a step back on defense (as the Huskers clearly did last night--no one was chasing their man out beyond the three point line), you have the opportunity to keep the person in front of you and contest the shot.  With our length at the guard position, we can contest shots better than most teams. 

 

I believed Miles would get this fixed, and it appears he has.  It was a very impressive scheme, and practical (i.e. a semi-contested three or jump shot is better than a reaching foul or a layup attempt).  Good job on all the long rebounds as well.  Great defense is so entertaining to watch, especially with these athletes.

 

I pray they use the same philosophy against Creighton.  I know they shoot it well, but a semi-contested three is still better than a layup, forever.

[hhcmatt]

This sort of defense will definitely be used against the Indianas and Purdues of the world...teams that can't shoot from outside much like Miami.  I'd be surprised if we saw a similar game plan on Sunday.

[HuskerBB]

Last night, the team finally looked like the sort of defense it's capable of being, and I think it had everything to do with coaching.  I saw a packed lane, help (for the most part) on pick and rolls, and contested shots. 

 

Contested shots, no matter who the shooter is, are very difficult to make.  When you take a step back on defense (as the Huskers clearly did last night--no one was chasing their man out beyond the three point line), you have the opportunity to keep the person in front of you and contest the shot.  With our length at the guard position, we can contest shots better than most teams. 

 

I believed Miles would get this fixed, and it appears he has.  It was a very impressive scheme, and practical (i.e. a semi-contested three or jump shot is better than a reaching foul or a layup attempt).  Good job on all the long rebounds as well.  Great defense is so entertaining to watch, especially with these athletes.

 

I pray they use the same philosophy against Creighton.  I know they shoot it well, but a semi-contested three is still better than a layup, forever.

 

I agree to an extent - but it was also a game that was not officiated the way the prior games have been - at least certainly not in the first half.   I thought last night's officials time-traveled back to last year.

[Huskerpapa]

That was a fun defense to watch last night and the team executed well with just a few exceptions.  Hopefully the game plan/scouting will provide us with whatever information is needed to duplicate the effort future games.

[Section_316]

Miami missed ALOT of open three's from what I saw. Creighton won't. 

[Stuk N Boulder]

There were comments here about the officiating.  So what is the chance that the game was officiated differently due to the national TV exposure? Allow a faster pace and keep the TV viewers happy?  Maybe the refs were told to get the game completed in a certain time frame cuz of later programming ? I know these are some pretty lame ideas but what the heck.  Loosen things up and let the clock run faster? 

[kldm64]

One thing I think the ref's need to control better is allowing both teams to huddle up at every free throw.  The ref's are standing there waiting for the players all the time.  This just slows the game down and makes each free throw take forever.  I wish they speed this part of the game up and not allow huddles.