NCAA Tournament 2013: Defensive Powerhouses Primed for a Deep Run

Winning in the NCAA tournament is about more than scoring a lot of points. Some of the best offensive squads in the country will fail to make it out of the early rounds, bowing out to teams that play stout, efficient defense.

The round of 64 is loaded with fast, athletic and explosive scoring offenses from top to bottom. Teams like Gonzaga, Indiana and Duke can rely on their offensive prowess early in the tournament, but not every team has that luxury.

Playing good defense earned the following teams a trip to the Big Dance. That stifling defense is what will propel them through the tournament on a collision course with a national title.

*All rankings and statistics acquired from ESPN.com and TeamRankings.com. 

No. 4 Saint Louis Billikens

The Billikens are starting to get some love, but not many people think they are a true title contender this year. With the No. 138 scoring offense in the country, Saint Louis is being written off as an over-seeded Cinderella hopeful.

Winning in the tournament isn’t all about offense, though.

Saint Louis boasts the No. 16 scoring defense in the country, holding opponents to just 58.1 points per game in the regular season. In 11 of their last 15 games, the Billikens didn’t allow more than 60 points, and that stretch included multiple wins over both Butler and VCU.

Jim Crews’ squad doesn’t hold opponents to remarkably low shooting percentages, but Saint Louis still manages to rank 10th in the nation in defensive efficiency (.874), due in large part to its ability to force a lot of turnovers.

The Billikens have forced an average of 15.2 turnovers per game this year. Paired with a remarkably low offensive turnover rate (11.5), Saint Louis is an extremely efficient squad with the defensive prowess to make a big splash in the Big Dance.

No. 2 Georgetown Hoyas

Like Saint Louis, Georgetown doesn’t do anything impressive at the offensive end of the floor. The Hoyas are 274th in scoring offense (64.6 PPG), and only three players are averaging double-digit points.

Georgetown has been successful this year because of its terrific defensive play and ability to take away quality shots from its opponents.

The Hoyas are sixth in the country in scoring defense (55.7 PPG), third in opponent field-goal percentage (37.6) and 31st in opponent three-point percentage (29.8). Simply put, the Hoyas don’t give teams any open looks.

Georgetown added a number of impressive wins to its resume this season, including victories over UCLA, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse (twice) and Marquette. In those wins, the Hoyas allowed an average of 51.3 points per game.

The South Region is loaded with offensive powerhouses, and the Hoyas will have some tough matchups in their pursuit for a title. As long as they continue to play shutdown defense, though, there are few teams in the region that will pose much of a threat.

No. 3 Florida Gators

Florida is an intriguing team this year. The Gators play exceptional defense and have the firepower to match at the offensive end, but losses to Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri late in the season are disconcerting.

Florida is averaging 71.9 points per game this season, led by a trio of 12-plus-point scorers, but they don't boast a single player who has consistently stepped up at the offensive end. The Gators are good enough offensively to be a serviceable bracket pick this year, though, due in large part to some excellent defensive play.

Sixty seems to be the magic number for the Gators this year. In its last 13 contests, Florida allowed 60 or more points just four times, losing all four games; the Gators held all other opponents in that stretch to under 60 points and were victorious in each game.

With the No. 3 scoring defense in the country (53.7 PPG) and an opponent field-goal percentage that ranks No. 5 (37.7), Florida has the ability to keep its South-Region foes off the scoreboard for long stretches. Getting consistent offensive production may be another story.

Still, nothing about Florida’s second-round matchup is particularly troubling, and there’s reason to believe the Gators could escape the Sweet 16 unscathed with a matchup against the equally stout defense of Georgetown on the horizon in the Elite Eight.

No. 3 Michigan State Spartans

Tom Izzo’s squad would be a dangerous tournament team regardless of its regular-season accolades, but having an efficient offense and stifling defense doesn’t hurt, either.

The Spartans score just 68.2 points per game, but shooting 46 percent from the floor has offset some of their offensive shortcomings. When Michigan State isn’t shooting well, it can always rely on a defense that ranks 27th in points allowed per game.

Michigan State traversed a tough Big Ten schedule relatively unscathed, and balance at both ends of the floor is a big reason for that. The Spartans have held opponents to just 39.8 percent shooting from the floor and 30.2 percent from behind the arc this season and have rebounded as well as almost any team in the Big Ten (36.9 per game).

Valparaiso shouldn’t present much of a problem for Michigan State in the second round, but potential matchups with Creighton and Duke in the subsequent rounds could be difficult tests for the Spartans. Still, a defense that plays tight against the three-ball is a defense that stands to upend both squads en route to a deep tournament run.

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