The Iowa State men return to action Sunday at Houston. The Cyclones are 7-4 after heading into the holiday break with a disappointing 65-58 loss to South Dakota State. Like most young teams the Cyclones have struggled at times with man-to-man defense and coach Greg McDermott says he has resisted the urge to use some zone.
McDermott says playing zone might plug the hole in the dam temporarily, but he says he’s building for the long term and doesn’t want the players to become reliant on the zone defense.
McDermott says in the long run the Cyclones must learn to be successful in the man-to-man. McDermott says he has to balance winning now, with learning the fundamental parts of the game to move forward. He says it’s important to learn how to play and react, and he doesn’t see many teams that win by playing mostly zone defense.
Houston will enter Sunday’s game riding a seven game winning streak.