PROVIDENCE -- The Providence College men's basketball team is in a zone. And it's likely to stay there for a while.
In this case, the zone is a 2-3 or 2-1-2, as in a zone defense. After what happened Tuesday in a 92-70 victory over Northeastern, Friar coach Tim Welsh is thinking zone more than ever.
Welsh is not making any promises, but it is very likely Yale will see more of the zone tonight when the Bulldogs visit The Dunk for a 7:30 contest.
Defense has been PC's main concern all season, and Welsh thinks he might finally have decided what's best for this squad, now 4-4 on the season.
"We're trying to find an identity defensively," is the way Welsh describes it. For much of the early going, PC played man-to-man. Two games ago, against Memphis, the Friars switched to a zone and it worked OK, well enough to keep the Friars in the game.
Tuesday against Northeastern, PC started in man defense. The Huskies hit their first six shots, and not long after that Welsh had his team playing zone. By the end of the night, Northeastern's shooting percentage was down to 34.2, the lowest PC has held any team this season. New Hampshire was the previous low at 37.5 percent.
Welsh does not expect opponents to miss 11 shots in a row, as the Huskies did to begin the second half, but he has seen enough to give the zone a chance.
"I liked what we did tonight on the defensive end with the zone," Welsh said after the Northeastern game. "I came into this game thinking that we were probably going to play zone."
Welsh was thinking zone against the Huskies specifically because of Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern's standout guard, who is among the national leaders in both scoring and assists.
The personnel Welsh has this year is not as natural a fit for a zone as the Friar team of two years ago. That team relied heavily on the zone on the way to a 20-9 record. That team had Marcus Douthit on the back end. Douthit's shot-blocking ability allowed him to clog the middle and discourage opponents from moving inside. This team does not have anyone who can do what Douthit did.
Still, this team is showing it can make the zone work.
"Our length is good on the backside. We've just got to protect the basket," Welsh said. "The Memphis game, we played a lot of zone. They took the shots I wanted them to take. They just made some deep threes. (Tuesday), we got out and contested them and our length helped us. I think we could become a good zone team like we were two and three years ago."
Senior Donnie McGrath is one Friar who remembers how effective the zone was in the past.
"With the zone (against Northeastern), we slowed them down and we were able to make a run," McGrath said. "Two years ago, when we went to the zone, that's when we started beating people. We can definitely be very good in the zone. I think that's something we're going to continue to work on in practice."
Yale, the opponent tonight, has made 47 3-pointers as it has won five of its first nine. Eric Flato (16) and the Holmes twins -- Caleb (15) and Nick (9) -- have 40 of those treys.
In this case, the zone is a 2-3 or 2-1-2, as in a zone defense. After what happened Tuesday in a 92-70 victory over Northeastern, Friar coach Tim Welsh is thinking zone more than ever.
Welsh is not making any promises, but it is very likely Yale will see more of the zone tonight when the Bulldogs visit The Dunk for a 7:30 contest.
Defense has been PC's main concern all season, and Welsh thinks he might finally have decided what's best for this squad, now 4-4 on the season.
"We're trying to find an identity defensively," is the way Welsh describes it. For much of the early going, PC played man-to-man. Two games ago, against Memphis, the Friars switched to a zone and it worked OK, well enough to keep the Friars in the game.
Tuesday against Northeastern, PC started in man defense. The Huskies hit their first six shots, and not long after that Welsh had his team playing zone. By the end of the night, Northeastern's shooting percentage was down to 34.2, the lowest PC has held any team this season. New Hampshire was the previous low at 37.5 percent.
Welsh does not expect opponents to miss 11 shots in a row, as the Huskies did to begin the second half, but he has seen enough to give the zone a chance.
"I liked what we did tonight on the defensive end with the zone," Welsh said after the Northeastern game. "I came into this game thinking that we were probably going to play zone."
Welsh was thinking zone against the Huskies specifically because of Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern's standout guard, who is among the national leaders in both scoring and assists.
The personnel Welsh has this year is not as natural a fit for a zone as the Friar team of two years ago. That team relied heavily on the zone on the way to a 20-9 record. That team had Marcus Douthit on the back end. Douthit's shot-blocking ability allowed him to clog the middle and discourage opponents from moving inside. This team does not have anyone who can do what Douthit did.
Still, this team is showing it can make the zone work.
"Our length is good on the backside. We've just got to protect the basket," Welsh said. "The Memphis game, we played a lot of zone. They took the shots I wanted them to take. They just made some deep threes. (Tuesday), we got out and contested them and our length helped us. I think we could become a good zone team like we were two and three years ago."
Senior Donnie McGrath is one Friar who remembers how effective the zone was in the past.
"With the zone (against Northeastern), we slowed them down and we were able to make a run," McGrath said. "Two years ago, when we went to the zone, that's when we started beating people. We can definitely be very good in the zone. I think that's something we're going to continue to work on in practice."
Yale, the opponent tonight, has made 47 3-pointers as it has won five of its first nine. Eric Flato (16) and the Holmes twins -- Caleb (15) and Nick (9) -- have 40 of those treys.
