Match-up zone defense is a type of defense used in the game of basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

. It is commonly referred to as a "combination" defense, as it combines certain aspects of man-to-man defense

Man-to-man defense

Man-to-man defense is a type of defensive tactic used in American football, association football, and basketball in which each player is assigned to defend and follow the movements of a single player on offense. Often, a player guards his counterpart , but a player may be assigned to guard a...

 and zone defense

Zone defense

Zone defense is a type of defense, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area known as a "zone" to cover....

. Perhaps the most famous user of the match-up zone was John Chaney, former head basketball coach at Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

.

Characteristics

With the match-up zone defense, the on-ball defender will play tight as if he was playing man-to-man. At the same time, the zone away from the ball will resemble "help-side" man-to-man defense. This creates one of the advantages for the match-up zone, as it may confuse the opponent as to what defense

Defense (sport)

In many team sports, defense or defence is the action of preventing an opponent from scoring. The term may also refer to the tactics involved in defense, or a sub-team whose primary responsibility is defense...

 you are actually playing. The match-up zone also resembles a "switching man-to-man" defense, where the big men stay down low in the post and the guards stay around the perimeter. When asked to describe Cheyney's Match up Zone defense, St. Joseph Hawks coach Phil Martelli

Phil Martelli

Phil Martelli is an American college basketball coach and current coach of the Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team. He maintains an impressive resume, having led Saint Joseph's to five NCAA Tournaments and four NITs. He has averaged 20 wins per season in his thirteen years with the...

replied: "In college basketball, there's the Pete Carril Princeton offense, the John Chaney Match up Zone defense, then everything else. Those are the only two truly unique syles designed and being used today."