Late in the first half Tuesday night against Northern Illinois University, with Kent State holding a lead, head coach Rob Senderoff opted to switch from his team’s conventional man-to-man defense to a 1-3-1 zone to limit the Huskies’ ability to drive the ball and score easy buckets.
Needless to say, the adjustment was successful. During the first 20 minutes of play, Northern Illinois shot 24.1 percent from the floor, committed 10 turnovers and only scored 10 points in the paint.
But as the game progressed, so did Kent State’s unforced errors — forcing Senderoff to have to, once again, implement man-to-man defense.