By Wendell Barnhouse
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
When a player or a team is playing well, it’s said to be “in the zone.” Baylor’s success this season has been because of a zone and the Bears hope that the defensive strategy helps them stay “in the zone” during the next few weeks.
Baylor, the No. 3 seed in the West Regional, opens play in Jacksonville, Fla., against No. 14 seed Georgia State Thursday. The Bears’ zone defense and relentless rebounding led by junior Rico Gathers has produced NCAA Tournament bids in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
The Bears are holding teams to 9.4 points per game below their season averages and are allowing just 60.3 points a game – the lowest for a Baylor team in 56 seasons. Since 2010, when Baylor reached the Elite Eight, coach Scott Drew has refined the zone defense.
“Sometimes our zone is a 2-3, sometimes it’s a 1-3-1, sometimes it’s a 1-1-3,” he said. “When we trap and when we don’t all depends on the opponent. But no matter what defense you play, if you give up second chance points, it’s not a good defense.”
Baylor’s zone is different because it morphs to match the offense and that it is aggressive instead of passive.
“People have a tendency to think that if you play zone, you can take a deep breath,” Baylor point guard Kenny Chery said. “But with a zone you have to move and be even more active and rebound.”
Big 12 coaches understand that facing Baylor’s zone defense is a unique challenge.
“They’ve got the most physical player (Gathers) in the country and they still have great length,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. “When you have short prep time, getting ready for it makes it difficult. It’s tough to simulate it. They do a great job and rebound very well out of it.”
West Regional
12:40 p.m. Thursday, Jacksonville, Fla.
No. 3 Baylor (24-9) vs. No. 14 Georgia State (24-9)
Bears update: Baylor is making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history. It's also the first time the Bears have earned an NCAA Tournament bid in an odd-numbered year. The Bear’s postseason winning percentage of .810 (17-14) is the nation’s second-best. Seven of Baylor's nine losses this season came against 2015 NCAA Tournament teams. Only three other Division I teams held all opponents under 75 points -- New Hampshire, Saint Peter's and Louisiana-Monroe. Baylor has three players with 100 or more assists in the same season for the first time in program history. Kenny Chery has 113, Royce O'Neale has 111 and Lester Medford has 104.
Panthers update: Georgia State is averaging 72 points a game with junior guard R.J. Hunter leading the way with 19.8 per game and a team-high 75 3-pointers. Georgia State last qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2001 under former head coach Charles “Lefty” Driesell, earning a No. 11 seed and upsetting No. 6 Wisconsin 50-49 in the first round in Boise, Idaho. Georgia State guard Ryan Harrow questionable for Baylor game with hamstring injury. He’s a senior who started his career at Kentucky before transferring. If Harrow doesn’t play or is limited, junior Kevin Ware could see more playing time. He transferred from Louisville. Playing for the Cardinals in
the 2013 Final Four, he suffered a gruesome broken leg.
What’s next: Winner plays on Saturday against the winner of the Xavier and BYU/Ole Miss first-round game.