Finding the Zone

Published December 27, 2007

NCAA® March Madness® 08 is here at last, and like its cover athlete Kevin Durant, it's quick, versatile, and spectacular to watch in action. No matter your collegiate affiliation or preferred style of play, you'll find plenty to love in EA's latest college hoops offering. And these tips will continue that love as you dominate the hallowed collegiate arenas from coast to coast and conference to conference. Good luck.

The top of the key. He's open!

Star Talents

Unlike the NBA, college teams and the games they play are largely dominated by their star players. Take cover boy Kevin Durant off the '06 Longhorns team and Texas would have had a much different season. Get your stars the ball!

That doesn't mean they should handle the rock all the time. It's still critical to use the point guard to set up the play, but the focus of your point guard play should be to get your star players in position to succeed.

Looking a little casual there.

Composure Considerations

NCAA March Madness 08 differs from its NBA cousin with the use of its dynamic composure system, which tracks every player's confidence, or lack thereof. This is no mere window dressing either. Composure counts big time when shooting the ball, snagging rebounds, delivering a pass or making a free throw.

• Star layups: There's nothing quite like your star player feeling it from the floor in the game's critical moments. You can go a long way to making that happen by taking your time during the game's first few possessions, and getting your star players easy layups or short jumpers to boost their confidence. Leave the circus shots and long bombs until they're feeling good about themselves.
• Psychological subs: In games past, your primary concern when substituting players was their fatigue level, but in March Madness, give some consideration to their composure rating. If a player is really suffering, swap them out for a fresh, optimistic substitute player.
• Timeout: There's a reason why pro and college coaches take a timeout to squash the other team's momentum. It works. If your opponent is making an extended run, try calling a timeout and let your team catch their collective breath.
• Pumped up: Keep a sharp eye out for lulls in the action where you can take a moment to pump up your teammates, the crowd or yourself. Hold LB and press the left stick in the desired direction. The key here is to boost your composure when you're not in the middle of running a play or on active defense. Typically, you can find a free second or two after a made basket.
• Impact Moment: Build up enough momentum and trigger a momentum-changing Impact Moment. Take advantage of this immediately or you'll run the risk of having momentum go the other way.

That would be a mismatch, friends.

Post Reliance

The Dynamic Post Control puts the offensive focus down in the paint. Keep this in mind when selecting a team for your Dynasty mode. If your favorite team doesn't sport a dominant big man, make recruiting one your top priority for the following season. Remember also that the upgraded post control works on defense too, so don't look solely for an offensive threat.

The Dream Shake

The bulk of your practice time in the early going should be dedicated to this new Dynamic Post Control. There's a lot of subtlety to the fakes, face up moves, hop steps, the up and under, and more. For example, you can duplicate the legendary Hakeem Olajuwon's dream shake by backing down using the left trigger, and then pressing left, right, and back to the left (the opposite works too) to shake the defender out of his virtual jock for an easy jam.

Lob it In

The lob pass down to the post (not to be confused with an alley oop pass) has long been a part of basketball, and now thankfully you can pick and choose at will when you want to use the pass. Any time your post player is behind the defender (your player is closer to the basket), hold the pass button for a gentle lob pass and an easy drive to the basket.

Don't Get Greedy

For many players the steal button (X, or left trigger when using lockdown defense) is just too tempting on defense. They press it repeatedly hoping to strip the ball, but the end result is usually a reach-in foul on the defender. Try once or twice and if it doesn't work, just let it be.

That happens when you don't use the lockdown stick.

Perimeter Lockdown

Using the lockdown stick (press down on the right stick when near the ball handler) is a great tool for staying in front of your opponent on defense, but don't get carried away with this technique. It's effective on the perimeter to stop guards from penetrating into the paint, but down low in the post, you'd be wise to stick with more traditional defense.

Left Trigger Charge

There's no faster path to frustrating your opponent than taking a charge using the left trigger (hold it) and the left control stick (hold left or right). This is particularly effective against a penetrating point/shooting guard or even a small forward.

Give the ball-handler just a couple of feet of cushion so you can set your feet to take the charge when they rush at you. If you don't, you'll likely be called for a blocking foul. If you can set your feet though and make certain not to move, you'll collect a charge nearly every time your opponent rushes recklessly ahead.

OK, the whistle has blown and the timeout period is over. Now take these tips, keep them in mind, go out and dominate that hardwood, and find your zone.

Article by Ryan Treit