1-3-1 Half-Court Zone

1-3-1 Zone Defense Basketball DVDs for Rent

The 1-3-1 Zone Defense is a zone defense that many teams aren’t prepared to face. Typically at the top of the zone you would place a long athletic player, your center in the middle, and your quickest best conditioned player at the bottom of the zone. The other two players take the wings.

In the 1-3-1 Zone defense you can trap in the corners and wings. Trapping in the corners is very effective because you have two sidelines and two defenders to box the offensive player into. This makes getting a pass out difficult.

Why Play the 1-3-1 Zone Defense in Basketball?

The strengths of the 1-3-1 zone are many. It’s a zone that makes it easier to keep the basketball on one side of the floor and stopping ball reversal. Driving vs. the 1-3-1 is also harder because you’ll typically have 3 players stopping the ball.

If you incorporate stunting into the zone, like the Michigan 1-3-1, you’ll make the offensive players wonder if you are coming to trap them or not. This can lead to turnovers through traveling and tipped passes.

Some of the weaknesses of the 1-3-1 Zone defense are that you’ll likely give up corner shots and it can be more difficult to rebound in this zone defense.