ISU zone worries coach, not players

Here's John Blanchette's column about Eastern in today's S-R.

The Eastern Eagles will face a rare type of defense on Thursday as Idaho State brings their 1-1-3 zone to Reese Court. The zone was something that caused the Eagles some troubles last year in their losses to the Bengals and has coach Ray Giacoletti concerned offensively. "It's something we haven't handled really well this year and we're going to need to do a real good job attacking their zone," said Giacoletti.

The players don't seem as concerned with the Bengals' defensive strategy. "Thats my thing, I love when people play zone," said senior Josh Barnard, who is shooting 52 percent from outside the arc. "We've gotten hot a couple of times against zones and our big guys are doing a lot better job finishing right now so I think the zone will help us," said Barnard.

"Against the zone, you get a little more shooting. It's just a matter of it your shot is on or not," said senior Brendon Merritt. The Eagles as a team shooting over 37 percent from the three point line, but if the shots are dropping from the outside they could be in for a long night.