Eggleston's take: Temple

After the Penn loss to Temple, the obvious story is how Zack Rosen nearly led the underdog Quakers to a win despite some curious officiating. One thing really stuck out to me in the game: ball screen defense. Some of the differences between the teams in this department can be traced to coaching and the rest to execution, but the way that Penn and Temple decided to guard the pick and roll was a big reason this game was as close as it was.

I didn't need to watch the game to know that the Quakers drill ball screen defense over and over. Trust me, I already know. Against Temple, Penn was very impressive in their execution against the pick and roll. I counted maybe two or three times at most over the course of forty-five minutes that the bigs failed to do their job. The Owls did not appear prepared for the different coverages the Quakers threw at them.

On high ball screens, the Penn big hedged out to stop the dribbler. Temple, like almost every team in America, has the screener roll to the rim and the opposite big rise to the high post. Instead of chasing his man down the lane, the Penn big who hedged simply switched onto the rising big and let his partner stop the roll man. Rob Belcore was able to deny the pass back to the big on this coverage and really disrupt the Temple offense.

For wing ball screens, Penn changed its strategy. The coverage they used is very popular in Europe, but not very common in the states, especially in college. When the screener arrives on the high side, the on ball defender turns his body to prevent the offensive player from using the pick. The big positions himself between the ball and the basket. This coverage is is especially effective when trying to contain a good guard like Fernandez and when the opposing bigs are not shooters. Confused, Temple guards turned it over twice in these situations, leading to fast break layups by Cartwright and Belcore.

As for the other end of the floor, the Owls couldn't seem to contain Zack Rosen off of the high ball screen. It's no secret that many Penn possessions of the last few years have ended with a pick and roll for Rosen, and it's a safe bet than many more will this year. That makes the Temple defensive breakdowns seem even more baffling. Every time a Penn big ran up to set a late clock screen for Rosen, the on ball defender let Zack go whichever way he wanted. On top of that, the Temple big was a couple steps behind. This allowed Rosen to hit the big shots that kept the Quakers in the game.

Since ball screens are a large part of the Penn offense, it will be important to watch how opposing teams guard them throughout the season. On defense you always have to choose something to give up; Zack Rosen is always hoping you'll choose him.