Zone D is a big preparation advantage. Most college teams run upwards of 50 different plays against man, meaning a great amount of film study and practice is devoted to what the other team wants to do. But a zone flips the script, shifting the prep work onto opposing shoulders. Because defenders guard an area instead of a man, offenses can utilize only about two or three different wrinkles against a 2-3. And, Pitino says, "in all my years, I haven't seen one zone offense that's as good as a man offense." So while an opposing coach scrambles both to prepare his man-to-man D for multiple offensive sets and get his offense ready for an unfamiliar defensive look, a zone coach can turn his attention inward toward execution and player development.
Nowhere is that advantage more critical than in postseason play, with short turnaround time between games. Syracuse's six-overtime win against UConn in last year's Big East tourney was unforgettable. But do you recall that the next day the Orange knocked off West Virginia in OT, too? You'd think that after playing into the wee hours of the morning, the Orange would have been toast, from a preparation perspective. Thanks to their zone, that wasn't an issue.