CHICAGO – Alex Olah was the only player standing in Northwestern’s locker room. The rest of his team had taken off their jerseys, showered and started to deal with the fact their season was over. The Wildcats’ 7-foot center wouldn’t do it.
He was still trying to process what had happened. Northwestern’s season was over – he seemed surprised by the way it ended.
That’s not how IU was supposed to play – at least, that’s not how it’s played all season. The Hoosiers don’t win games with defense, they win in spite of it. Opposing ballhandlers don’t fear a matchup with IU, and post players don’t expect to be battered around.
But that’s what happened. Olah ran a hand through his hair as he came to terms with it.
IU’s new-look pressure defense, he said, is what ended his season. Any time he touched the ball, he found himself immediately surrounded by two or three Hoosiers.
“It’s tough,” Olah said. “I’ve got to recognize that.”
Leading up to the Big Ten Tournament, IU’s main talking point was pressure. It can’t shut down opposing offenses with size or match up against a team’s strength, so it had to create chaos by being a nuisance.
And a nuisance it was. IU’s guards picked up Northwestern ballhandlers at halfcourt, tossing in a smattering of full-court presses. They poked, bumped and cut off the Wildcat backcourt – Northwestern couldn’t even get into its half-court set.
“They just pushed us out on the floor, and you can’t play offense at 35 feet,” Northwestern guard Bryant McIntosh said.
It was a last-ditch attempt to renovate a struggling defense, and it worked. IU held Northwestern to 56 points, the second fewest it’s given up to a Big Ten opponent this season. The Wildcats shot 43 percent, made just five 3-pointers and turned the ball over nine times.
Freshman guard Robert Johnson said bringing pressure to the game changed the attitude toward defense in the Hoosier locker room. Not only was it effective, he said, it made shutting down another team more enjoyable and created intensity on the defensive end of the floor.
“It helped our defense a lot, letting us get up and pressure the ball a little bit,” Johnson said. “When you’re doing that, you’re into it more defensively.”
The new system worked – once. Stopping what was left of a mediocre Northwestern offense is a good starting point. Friday against Maryland, IU will find out if the changes can last.
Maryland likes to play through the post, positioning forward Jake Layman and guard Dez Wells down low and running its offense around them. The Terrapins don’t boast a traditional back-to-the-basket big man, but can create motion and movement around their low-post anchors.
That often frees up guards like freshman All-Big Ten honoree Melo Trimble, who can take advantage of the added spacing. That duplicity – inside and outside offense – often nullifies opponents’ pressure.
The solution for IU might be to pressure more, to force Maryland’s guards further up the court and keep the ball out of the post entirely. That can frustrate a team and throw off its entire set, Olah said
“When the guards are higher up on the court, it’s tough to throw it in the post,” Olah said.
If IU can stretch Maryland’s offense closer to the half-court line, it can overcome its relative lack of size. Strength doesn’t matter as much when you’re 35 feet from the basket.
IU Coach Tom Crean said Thursday’s game was one of his team’s most complete defensive performances this season. He’ll probably have to deploy the same high-pressure system Friday.
“They can score inside, and they can score outside,” Crean said. “They’ve got great penetration, they do a great job of getting to the foul line.
“We’ve got to do a really good job all the way across the board."
