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[QUOTE="IthacaMatt, post: 850115, member: 405"]
I think the big thing is that (a) our zone slows games down, creating fewer possessions, and (b) the game has changed, so you can't necessarily impose your pace on the elite teams.  It's like in baseball, where your hitting over the regular season does not compare to the playoffs, where you don't face anybody's 4th and 5th best starters - it's always the other team's aces that you are going against, and scoring is more at a premium.

I also think Boeheim has changed a bit these past 5 years or so, and is focusing more on not permitting as many offensive rebounds as the zone has historically done.  Wing players don't leak out (like Terrance Roberts or even Wes Johnson used to) as often.  Nowadays, the only guys who may take off are the guards, and with Ennis, he always comes back for the ball.  So today our fast break is limited to steals up top and the occasional blocked shot.  We don't run as often, but part of that is the changes in the nature of the game, and the other part is Boeheim adjusting his zone over time, so it doesn't turn into a sieve defensively, like we used to see happen so many times in the past.  Seriously, when was the last time some team truly pounded us on the boards, with a plus 15 or a plus 20 rebounding advantage?  You used to see that happen 5 times a year or so, even within the last decade.  But not so much these past few years.

Defense wins games.  Yes, you have to make shots, but last year taught the coach a lesson - you can have almost zero offensive production from a couple players on the floor, but if you play lights out defense, you can still win almost every game.
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