Updated Seattle Times article (with Mike Hopkins reinforcing his 2-3 zone defense)
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports...come-cold-start-to-down-texas-southern-72-65/
Mike Hopkins isn’t ready to trash his beloved 2-3 zone defense even if it appears to have nearly cost the Washington men’s basketball team another win.[/i]
For the third time in three games, the Huskies struggled offensively, especially on the perimeter, while failing to shut down a seemingly overmatched opponent. They fell behind early and eventually seized control with a late surge sparked by a ball-hawking full-court press and man-to-man defense.
On Monday night, UW overcame a sluggish first-half performance before claiming a 72-65 nonconference victory against Texas Southern in front of 5,315 at Alaska Airlines Arena.
Terrell Brown Jr. finished with 20 points and nine assists, while Daejon Davis added 15 points, PJ Fuller 11 and Jamal Bey 10 for the Huskies, which improved to 2-1.
“The press has been good for us and timely,” Hopkins said noting TSU’s 21 turnovers that led to 27 points. “We got steals. It gets us aggressive. We can go smaller. … We had 15 take-aways (combined eight steals and seven blocks), which is a great stat for us.
“Down the stretch, I thought in the second half with our man (defense), even though we were small, we were gritty. We only gave up four foul shots in the second half. That was a big part of how we won.”
For now, the Huskies will toggle between their three defensive schemes, even though UW has outscored opponents 117-95 in the second half when it has predominantly utilized its man-to-man attack and full-court press.
“Our press has been good,” Hopkins said. “I thought our press changed the game. To be able to have both weapons is a good thing obviously. We still have to get better in our man. We have to get better in our zone. That’s part of the growth.
“We have guys that came from really good man-to-man programs and instinctually have been taught well, and they know how to play it. If we have to use it in a game, we know that we have it. There’s a lot of coaches out there that don’t like playing against a zone. We have to be better at that, but we’re going to adapt to the game. The more weapons that we have, the better for us and the more you have to prepare for it.”
In the first half, Washington was thoroughly outplayed while shooting 36.4% from the field, including 3 of 14 on three-pointers. Texas Southern led for 15:22 minutes and went into the break ahead 37-33.
The last time the Huskies played the Tigers, they won 88-52 on Dec. 6, 2008, in a game in which UW assistant Quincy Pondexter finished with 13 points and eight assists.
This time, UW looked as if it was in danger of dropping its first ever game against a SWAC opponent after eight straight wins.
However, Hopkins turned to the press and a switching man-to-man defense with a small four-guard lineup that included Fuller with starters Jamal Bey, Emmitt Matthews Jr., Brown and Davis.
Washington outscored Texas Southern 39-28 in the second half.
Still, the Huskies trailed 56-55 with 7:25 left before Fuller drilled a gorgeous step-back three-pointer over a defender. On the ensuing possession, Fuller collected a steal before Brown converted an acrobatic layup while crashing to the floor.
The baskets were the start of an 8-0 run that ended when Davis, hanging in the air for a layup, gave Washington a 63-56 lead with 4:26 left.
“We always say energy is contagious regardless if it’s bad or good,” Brown said. “PJ hitting that shot, … we believe in him. We want him to be confident in his shot because he puts so much time into it.”
However, the Tigers didn’t go away quietly and cut UW’s advantage to 63-60 at the 2:07 mark.
The Huskies converted nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to secure its second straight win.
Hopkins bemoaned a 52-29 rebounding disparity that favored Texas Southern but was pleased by a defense that held TSU to just 2-of-18 shooting on three-pointers and UWs diversified offensive attack that produced four double-digit scorers.
“I felt like our offense got a lot better,” he said. “We shared it. We spaced it. We made the extra pass. And that’s how we’re going to win. We obviously have to get better in our zone, but our man-to-man (defense) today won the game especially in the second half.”
Hopkins added: “Very gritty. It wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to beat a good basketball team.”
Washington concludes its homestand Thursday against Wyoming (2-0).
Texas Southern (0-3) started the season with a four-game West Coast road trip that began last week with an 83-66 loss at Oregon and a 67-58 defeat at Saint Mary’s. TSU plays Wednesday at Air Force.
NOTE:[/b]
Junior center Riley Sorn, who missed the first two games due to a back injury, dressed for Monday’s game but did not see action.
https://twitter.com/Pac12Network/status/1460470843939508228