YSU set to battle NKU in Horizon League tourney semifinals
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YOUNGSTOWN -- In its quest to reach the apex of the Horizon League for the first time, Youngstown State will next be tasked with a team that's been at that peak plenty before.
The Penguins (24-8) take on Northern Kentucky (20-12) on Monday night in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals (7 p.m., ESPNU, 570 AM WKBN) at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. NKU topped Oakland 81-74 to reach the semis.
Of the matchup, YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun said, "I think they're playing as good as anybody in the conference. ... They're a veteran team. They've been in the semis every year."
Indeed, the Norse have been in the league semifinals each of the last six years -- Calhoun's entire tenure with Youngstown State -- and claimed tournament titles in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
The run of success begins with NKU's defense, which Calhoun describes as the best in the Horizon League.
Statistics back that up. Northern Kentucky's matchup zone is allowing a league-best 62.3 points per conference game. That stands in contrast to Youngstown State, which is scoring a league-best 82.2 points per conference game.
"It can give you a lot of problems," Calhoun said.
He later added, "With Northern Kentucky, it's pretty much a matchup man-to-man (zone). They'll switch a lot, they'll stay in their areas. You've got to be able to move the defense side to side, and you've got to screen this zone. You've got to slit this zone; you've got to throw it inside. We've got to take advantage of our two forwards and their strength inside, and then you have to take good shots so you can offensive rebound."
All these things YSU was able to do in its last meeting with the Norse, a 74-56 beatdown at Beeghly on Feb. 4. NKU won the season's first matchup 77-73 in double overtime.
In their February victory, the Penguins shot a blistering 30-for-51 (58.8 percent) and sank seven of 17 shots from three-point range. Forwards Adrian Nelson and Malek Green scored 17 and 13 points, respectively, and Nelson added 12 rebounds against his former squad.
But what really lifted YSU that night -- and what will be critical again -- was the defensive effort. The Penguins stymied NKU to a 19-for-59 (32.2 percent) night from the field. That was built on a second-half effort in which YSU kept its guests to just 8-for-31 from the field and 1-for-8 from three.
And, the Penguins managed to keep NKU star guard Marques Warrick -- an All-Horizon League Second Team selection -- to six points on a 2-for-6 night. That came by way of frequent double teams and constant pressure.
"With him, he's going to score. You've got to make it hard," Calhoun said. "This league has great guards, you've got probably seven or eight guards that are elite. He's an elite player. He's a difficult matchup because he has size -- he's about 6-3, 6-4. He's really good at shooting the step-back, so you have to do a really good job of getting a hand up at all times. They put him in a lot of pick and rolls, they run him off ball screens, they'll post him up. You've got to be really good against him."
Warrick is by no means a one-man wrecking crew, however. Sam Vinson tallied 18 points, while Trey Robinson had 11 last time around, and those two, plus freshman forward Chris Brandon figure to pose a significant challenge again in the rubber match.
"They're really putting teams in close-outs and making a lot of threes, so you've got to guard the basketball," Calhoun said. "You've got to be good at your pick and rolls, because they play four-guard lineups. All four guys can beat you off the dribble, they can shoot the three and they can drive it. So they put a lot of pressure on your defense."
The winner of this matchup will take on the winner of Milwaukee and Cleveland State, who face off in Monday's nightcap at 9:30.
A win would advance Youngstown State to the championship round for the first time since joining the conference and put the Penguins just one game from an NCAA Tournament berth.
"In these conference tournaments, it's really about which team plays the best. Everybody's good inside our conference," Calhoun said. "I felt like we had multiple teams that could win this conference, and I still think the same. ... Tournament time, anything can happen."
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com