One team does it with a supply of lithe, long-limbed athletes using their God-given gifts to apply suffocating pressure, which forces opponents into turnovers and rushed shots.
The other team does it without the awe factor ? fewer natural athletes, more detail-oriented technicians, always a few of hearty German stock that a few media types have dubbed the ?Luftwaffe.?
?No question about it,? Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said with a laugh, ?they?re definitely two ends of the spectrum.?
Their defenses, though, are at the same end ? the top end.
Ohio State and Wisconsin bring the two most effective defenses in college basketball into their game today, with first place in the Big Ten on the line.
The Badgers have allowed fewer points per game (49.5) than anyone in Division I, but that yield is skewed by the fact that they play fewer possessions per game than anyone else. The Buckeyes have allowed six more points per game, but their average of 0.81 of a point per opponent possession is the best in the nation. Wisconsin?s average of 0.83 ranks second.
They use different styles to accomplish the same goal.
?I think the biggest thing for both of them is they protect the lane and they do not foul,? Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. ?I think they foul more than last year, both of them, but they still limit putting you at the line.?
Each team is allowing about 14 free throws per game.
?They also play great transition defense,? Weber said. ?Part of transition defense is taking care of the basketball and taking good shots and not putting themselves in a bind where if you turn it over ? it?s two-on-one or three-on-one and it?s tough to stop.?
Both teams rank among the top 25 nationally in turnover percentage, as well as the percentage of rebounds they grab off their defensive boards.
?Neither team gives up too many second-shot opportunities,? Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said.
?It all adds up,? Weber said. ?That?s the style that has been successful in our league: being patient, taking good shots, taking care of the basketball, which also leads to good defense on the other end.? Protester
The teams use different means to that same end, though. Ohio State is by far the more daunting team getting off the bus.
?The Ohio State length is really an issue,? Indiana coach Tom Crean said. ?What Ohio State does is just really get up into you and force you to make basketball plays, force you to create space, and because of that length, they make the next pass look a little bit harder.
?Wisconsin?s defense is a little bit more inside the three-point line. They do an excellent job of getting into your body on post touches, and they do an excellent job of using their chest to try to create that contact rather than using their length. And I think Wisconsin does a little more switching (on screens).?
