via @BraydonRoberts5
WHO: #10 seed Georgia Bulldogs (22-11 overall, 9-7 in SEC)
WHEN: Sunday, March 19 at 2 PM CT
WHERE: Carver Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
TV: ABC
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network | Sirius/XM TBD
MOBILE: www.espn.com/app
ONLINE: www.espn.com/watch
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
Iowa fans are understandably worried about this game. Just last year, 10-seed Creighton defeated Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to begin a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight.
Now Cedar Rapids native and former Iowa player Katie Abrahamson-Henderson brings her 10-seeded Georgia team to Iowa City looking to complete a storybook ending of her own. What problems will Georgia present for Iowa on Sunday?
A big reason for that defensive success is Georgia’s zone. The Bulldogs will likely play a 3-2 (or 1-2-2) zone the entire game. At its best, the zone is meant to cause chaos on the perimeter through aggressive traps on the wing or in the corners. Against Florida State, Georgia had a couple runs of success generating turnovers in the second quarter and early fourth quarter. Those turnovers—especially in the fourth—helped swing momentum in the game.
But outside of those two periods, Georgia’s zone didn’t cause Florida State that many issues. The Seminoles average 13.5 turnovers per game and only had 14 against Georgia.
When I think of aggressive, turnover-focused zones I think Northwestern. The Wildcats were down this year, but caused Iowa problems in Caitlin Clark’s first two years because they never stop looking to turn teams over. I don’t think this Georgia defense is quite that disruptive.
The biggest benefit of Georgia’s 3-2 zone against Florida State was limiting dribble penetration. When Georgia was set Florida State got very little going to the basket all game. Instead, the Seminoles settled for jumpers that they mostly missed outside of a few hot streaks like in the game’s opening minutes.
Like all defenses, the 3-2 zone has its weaknesses. Many of Florida State’s jumpers were wide open. Had Florida State shot well from three, the game could’ve gone very differently.
In particular, Georgia’s zone is susceptible to overloads where the opposing offense has a shooter on the wing, in the corner, and a post on the low block. Like all zones, teams can also unlock it via quick passes that swing the ball before the zone has time to shift. There is no better player at putting long skip passes on the money than Clark.
MORE HERE: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-no-2-seed-iowa-wbb-vs-no-10-seed-georgia
WHO: #10 seed Georgia Bulldogs (22-11 overall, 9-7 in SEC)
WHEN: Sunday, March 19 at 2 PM CT
WHERE: Carver Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
TV: ABC
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network | Sirius/XM TBD
MOBILE: www.espn.com/app
ONLINE: www.espn.com/watch
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
Iowa fans are understandably worried about this game. Just last year, 10-seed Creighton defeated Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to begin a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight.
Now Cedar Rapids native and former Iowa player Katie Abrahamson-Henderson brings her 10-seeded Georgia team to Iowa City looking to complete a storybook ending of her own. What problems will Georgia present for Iowa on Sunday?
GEORGIA’S ZONE
Georgia is led by its defense. The Bulldogs rank 25th nationally in opponent’s points per 100 possessions and 14th nationally in steal rate.A big reason for that defensive success is Georgia’s zone. The Bulldogs will likely play a 3-2 (or 1-2-2) zone the entire game. At its best, the zone is meant to cause chaos on the perimeter through aggressive traps on the wing or in the corners. Against Florida State, Georgia had a couple runs of success generating turnovers in the second quarter and early fourth quarter. Those turnovers—especially in the fourth—helped swing momentum in the game.
But outside of those two periods, Georgia’s zone didn’t cause Florida State that many issues. The Seminoles average 13.5 turnovers per game and only had 14 against Georgia.
When I think of aggressive, turnover-focused zones I think Northwestern. The Wildcats were down this year, but caused Iowa problems in Caitlin Clark’s first two years because they never stop looking to turn teams over. I don’t think this Georgia defense is quite that disruptive.
The biggest benefit of Georgia’s 3-2 zone against Florida State was limiting dribble penetration. When Georgia was set Florida State got very little going to the basket all game. Instead, the Seminoles settled for jumpers that they mostly missed outside of a few hot streaks like in the game’s opening minutes.
Like all defenses, the 3-2 zone has its weaknesses. Many of Florida State’s jumpers were wide open. Had Florida State shot well from three, the game could’ve gone very differently.
In particular, Georgia’s zone is susceptible to overloads where the opposing offense has a shooter on the wing, in the corner, and a post on the low block. Like all zones, teams can also unlock it via quick passes that swing the ball before the zone has time to shift. There is no better player at putting long skip passes on the money than Clark.
MORE HERE: https://iowa.rivals.com/news/preview-no-2-seed-iowa-wbb-vs-no-10-seed-georgia
